USC looks to earn fifth straight victory
Entering the season ranked No. 15 in the nation, South Carolina’s men’s soccer team didn’t get off to the best start, going 2-4-1 in early nonconference play.
But with a 1-0 win over UAB on Tuesday, the Gamecocks enter the weekend as winners of three straight conference matches and boast a perfect record in the Conference USA standings. They’ll look to keep that streak going at Central Florida on Saturday.
“We said earlier that this would be a different team in October than it was in September,” coach Mark Berson said after the win at UAB. “The boys have fought hard. They’ve believed in everything that we’ve done and put it together with a really nice streak of wins here.”
The momentum should be vital as the Gamecocks (5-4-1) prepare to play UCF, their toughest opponent in the conference schedule thus far. The Golden Knights (8-1-1) are ranked No. 6 in the Soccer America Top 25 poll after a 4-2 defeat of ranked SMU.
“They’re a team that’s at the top of the league in terms of their play,” Berson said. “They’re a very experienced team. They’re sort of where we were last year in terms of a lot of experienced players coming back.”
A staple of the Golden Knights so far in 2011 has been their offensive attack, entering the weekend outscoring opponents 25-10 so far this season. McKauly Tulloch has led the way in scoring, posting 12 goals so far this year with a .500 shot on goal percentage.
For USC keeper Alex Long, who picked up his first collegiate shutout in the victory over UAB, the matchup will provide another opportunity to showcase the lessons learned in the early part of the season.
Along with Long, USC’s 19 underclassmen have showed significant development, allowing Berson to effectively rotate players in and out of the game with few concerns.
Berson has been without two of his stronger contributors in USC’s last two games, however, as Chipper Root and Asa Kryst have both been out with injuries. Niklas Kivinen has filled in for Root, a regular starter with one goal and an assist on the season. Kryst regularly plays off the bench.
“Chipper has an ankle injury,” Berson said. “That’s one of those things that will be a game-to-game situation. We’ll just have to see. He’s working real hard to get back. That’s a significant loss for us.”
Despite injury concerns, the Gamecocks will hope to ride the momentum into Orlando this weekend.
“Those three wins get us started on the right foot in the conference,” Berson said. “More importantly, now we have a string of wins. We have a string of results. I think our team is starting to come of age a little bit.”