Gamecocks get 1-0 victory over Cougars
Within the first few minutes of Friday’s season-opening men’s soccer match against the College of Charleston, it was clear South Carolina had been anxious to get the season started.
Three warnings, two for South Carolina and one for the Cougars, were issued in the first 15 minutes after a physical start to the game for both teams.
While the emotions were running high in the first half, so were the mistakes, particularly for the Gamecocks. USC had just two shots in the first half, none on goal, to the Cougars’ three shots, one on goal; however, near the end of the first half and the beginning of the second period, the Gamecocks began to pick up the pace with four shots over a span of 12 minutes.
It culminated in the 72nd minute, when Gamecock sophomore Stephen Anderson nailed the only goal of the game — a 30-yard strike from straight out that went through the Cougars’ goalkeeper’s Kees Heemskerks’ hands.
“College of Charleston had a little bit to do with that (slow start),” said USC coach Mark Berson. “Nerves, first night here at home also had a little bit to do with it. The thing that we like to do is have our defending and our pressure set up the attacking. We really didn’t get our pressure the way that we would like it in the first half. As a result, we were on our back foot a little in the first half and we couldn’t get any momentum.”
Berson had high praise for Anderson’s shot, saying he “hit the absolute paste out of that ball.”
The Gamecocks almost found themselves in an early hole in the 29th minute when USC junior goalkeeper Alex Long took too long to corral a ball in the box, allowing a Cougar defender to knock the ball out of Long’s hands. After a pass from the left side, Cougars midfielder Troy Peterson found himself with a straight-on shot from 15 yards out. However, USC senior defender Kevin Stam blocked the shot with his knee, stopping College of Charleston’s best scoring opportunity of the match.
“Kevin is a leader for us in the back,” Berson said. “He’s a veteran and has won two conference championships, so he knows how to win. I thought the (defenders) did a great job of controlling C of C’s forwards tonight.”
The Cougars best scoring chance in the second half came on a free kick from Cougars midfielder Ralphie Lundy in the 83rd minute. The shot curved toward the right side of the goalpost but Long made a diving stop for one of his three saves on the night.
“I thought Alex was outstanding on crosses,” Berson said. “He took a little too long on that one ball, and that ages you as a coach when that happens, but other than that I thought his control of the box was excellent. I thought he had a very good match overall and he got a shutout, so that’s a positive.”
While the Gamecocks had their fair share of mistakes, Berson believes that his team will get better as the season progresses and see’s the shutout victory as a good start to the 2012 season.
“It’s like baseball,” Berson said. “Baseball is not the same in the early season as it is at the end when the players get on their rhythm. I thought as the game went on, we showed improvement already. If we continue to see an opponent, solve the problem, keep the ball and create chances, we can be pretty good. We just want to get better one game after the next.”