Tulsa ends South Carolina’s season
The South Carolina men’s soccer team’s bid for an NCAA Tournament appearance fell short Tuesday when they lost 3-1 to sixth-seeded Tulsa.
Taking place at Transamerica Field in Charlotte, N.C., the contest was an opening-round fixture in the Conference USA Tournament, a competition the Gamecocks needed to win in order to make the NCAAs.
No. 4-seed South Carolina looked to be in business early when senior midfielder J.P. Rafferty found the net in the eighth minute. But the game was equalized in the 48th minute on a Gamecock blunder that led to an own goal.
After the goal, Tulsa never looked back, taking the lead in the 54th minute and netting a third insurance goal in the 89th minute.
The Golden Hurricane outshot South Carolina 15-13, but Tulsa put nine of its shots on goal while the Gamecocks only had four on target. South Carolina stayed alive in the contest behind six saves from freshman goalkeeper Marco Velez.
The loss and subsequent failure to win the C-USA tournament puts an end to an up-and-down season for South Carolina that saw the team finish with a 7-7-5 overall mark and a 4-2-3 conference record.