Gamecocks top N.C. State behind freshman's back-to-back goals
As one of the top high school players coming out of Georgia, playing as a reserve wasn’t something that freshman Snoopy Davidson was accustomed to.
Davidson has come off the bench for South Carolina’s men’s soccer team this season, and against N.C. State on Tuesday night, he showed why he’s been so valuable in that role.
Entering the game in the 23rd minute, Davidson broke open a scoreless game, posting a pair of goals to lift the Gamecocks to a 2-0 lead over the Wolfpack.
“It’s different. I haven’t done that before,” Davidson said. “It’s been great this year. To come in there and lift the team, that’s what I try to do whenever I’m coming off the bench. If we score a goal, that’s great. If not, that’s great. We just try to come in there and make a difference.”
Approaching halftime, Davidson tapped in a short cross by Emmett Lunceford, also a reserve, from two yards out in the 38th minute. J.P. Rafferty, a reserve for the Gamecocks as well, was also credited on the assist.
Davidson put the ball in the back of the net again just two minutes later off a long throw-in by Danny Cates, giving USC a 2-0 lead with five minutes left in the first period.
“We’re really pleased with the lift that our reserves gave us today coming in,” said coach Mark Berson. “That’s been building all season and we’ve seen it coming all season. All those guys have played a role a little bit as the season has come along, but now they’re seasoned and they’re ready to go and they showed it tonight. They gave us a lift and scored two goals and changed the game.
“I’m very proud of that and to be honest, I don’t think anybody on our team was at all surprised.”
The win marked just the second shutout for the Gamecocks and the third time the team had scored first in a victory, having won four games in comeback fashion. For Berson, it was a welcome change.
“It feels really good,” Berson said. “I’m glad to not have to say we came from behind again, but N.C. State is a very good team. They’re well organized and tough to break down. I was glad to see us get the goals and also get the shutout, so that’s a good accomplishment.”
The victory over the Wolfpack is the sixth win in seven games for USC, which had a rocky start to the season, going 2-4-1 to open the season. The Gamecocks turned it around, putting themselves in first place in the Conference-USA standings with only one loss in overtime to SMU in conference play.
With USC in the heart of its conference schedule, having to host an ACC team in the midweek can be challenging, though Berson hopes it will pay off in the long run.
“It’s a little bit difficult because we’re focused on the conference right now, but we have some really good games against some good teams in the ACC that are important for our RPI on these Tuesday nights,” Berson said. “We have to take those games when we can get them and they have conference games on the weekend too so that’s just the way college soccer has to do it.”
The Gamecocks will look to continue improving their conference record when they travel to Florida International on Saturday, and while the sudden success may have some surprised after the way the season started for USC, Berson said that he’s expected it all along.
“We said early that this team was going to be a little bit young and they were going to have to learn and going to have to get experience,” Berson said. “I think they’ve done that. It’s all been part of the plan.”