Gamecocks play pair of Big Ten teams 
For men’s soccer coach Mark Berson, his team has been steadily improving since the first scrimmage of the year.
That improvement continued into the 1-0 victory over College of Charleston on Friday, and Berson hopes he can keep it going this weekend when USC hosts the Gamecock Classic.
“I think right now the key element for us is execution,” Berson said. “I think this group has a good idea about what they’re doing. They have a good idea about what their identity is out on the field, and now it is a matter of going out and playing well in key situations.”
USC will need to play well against No. 15 St. John’s Friday night in the opener of the tournament. The Red Storm have been a traditionally powerful program and are led by coach Dave Masur, who has taken St. John’s to 17 NCAA tournaments in his 20 years of coaching.
“He is one of the outstanding coaches in the country,” Berson said. “They will be very organized and extremely good in the attack. They’re a team that basically comes in with no weaknesses.”
It took the Gamecocks some time to get going Friday against Charleston, notching only two shots in the first half; however, Berson is not planning on changing his strategy, saying that Charleston had a lot to do with the slow start.
USC did have a couple of substitute players come in and contribute in the win over the Cougars, including sophomore Asa Kryst, who had a shot on goal; freshman Devin L’Amoreaux, who recorded his first collegiate shot; and freshman Wesley Eads, who did the same.
Berson thinks the substitute players will have even more of an impact in the Gamecock Classic and is planning to use the depth on his team.
“We’ll go even deeper into our roster for these two games,” Berson said. “We think depth is absolutely the No. 1 strength of this team. We don’t really have a set starting 11, and I think we can go 15 or 16 deep. I think throughout the year, you’re going to see a lot of players play important roles for us.”
After an off day on Saturday, USC will wrap up the Gamecock Classic against Northwestern. The team’s assistant coach Mike Babst held his same position at South Carolina for the last five years before he moved to coach the Wildcats.
“Northwestern is out of another power conference (Big Ten) so they’re a very good team,” Berson said. “They have a quality program, and we have ties to both programs. We have a lot of respect for them as well.”
Berson believes his team will need the momentum it has built up over the last few weeks and hopes for a strong showing this weekend.
“It builds confidence, and it builds that momentum,” Berson said. “I think we have been starting to get us used to the level of competition that we’re going to face all year long. But make no mistake about it, this weekend is going to be a step up with St. John’s and Northwestern, and I know our guys will be ready.”