Gamecocks will get SMU or Marshall
South Carolina men's soccer coach Mark Berson could only describe the final week of the regular season as a wild one.
And having to play two overtime games in four days to gain a share of the Conference USA regular season title was wild. But it was also taxing.
With the top seed in the C-USA Tournament secured, the Gamecocks (9-6-2) have the opportunity to rest before having to play the winner of the first round matchup between Southern Methodist and Marshall on Friday.
"The rest factor will be important for us," Berson said. "We've been able to use this week effectively for training and we didn't have to travel out there on Tuesday so that's going to be a big plus for us. It really helps with school, as far as our guys not having to be stressed about missing too much and that's an important factor too."
Along with becoming C-USA Co-Champions, the Gamecocks also received numerous accolades following the conclusion of the regular season. Most notably, Berson was named conference coach of the year. It's the first time he's received the honor for C-USA.
"Earning the coach of the year is a very humbling thing," Berson said. "I have a lot of gratitude to the other coaches in the league because it's voted on by the coaches. It's also a shared award. Clearly, that is the response to the performance of the team this year and it's the performance of the staff."
Sophomore forward Bradlee Baladez was also named to the C-USA first team, while senior midfielder Stephen Morrissey was named to the second team, and senior defender Danny Cates and freshman midfielder Braeden Troyer were named to the third team. Troyer was also named to the All-Freshman team.
Baladez has scored a goal in six out of eight conference games this season, tallying seven goals and five assists on the season.
"Bradlee has had a tremendous year," Berson said. "I think his growth as a player has been really evident this year. He's doing all the little things now that make him a good player, in terms of his movement off the ball, his defensive ability, his ability to close down defenders – these are all elements of his game that he's expanded that also led to improved goal scoring and creation of good goal-scoring opportunities for himself and for others. He's really done a good job this year and I think his selection to the first-team All Conference was really merited."
USC started the season 1-4-1, but the Gamecocks were able to get hot at the right time, going 6-1-1 in league play. Part of the change was the move of Mike Mangotic from defender to forward, giving USC a greater spark on offense.
The Gamecocks had only scored eight goals in the first eight games prior to conference play. The team would go on to score 17 goals in the final 10 games of the season. The Gamecocks will look to maintain the offensive production of the later part of the season in the upcoming tournament.
"We did make some adjustments in the early part of the season and tried to look for some different things to try to give us a spark," Berson said. "Moving Mike Mangotic, who was an outstanding left back for us last year, up front has been a real plus. It's been a spark. It's ignited the entire team. A lot of different players have scored goals."
The Gamecocks will also be looking to defend their C-USA Championship title from last season, as well as gain better seeding for the NCAA Tournament. Even after having a sluggish start to the season and boasting 19 freshmen and sophomores out of 28 players on the roster, USC is in a position to have similar seeding as last year when it was able to host two matches in the tournament.
"I think this is a team that has come from behind a number of times this season," Berson said. "They've played very well in big, clutch games. That's really rewarding. That's a great feeling as a coach, as a staff, and as a team to know that we have that quality. That's something they earned and that's something they've done all year so hopefully that will continue for us and I'm very proud of that."