Coach Mark Berson and the South Carolina men’s soccer team didn’t let a quick deficit keep them from a win in Friday’s regular season opener against USC Upstate.
Behind goals from Luca Mayr and Petter Soelberg, the Gamecocks rallied from a 1-0 setback to defeat the Spartans, 2-1, at Stone Stadium.
“To win the opening game is really important,” Berson said. “It gives you something to build on. I think, there was a lot of different highs and lows in the match. First of all, giving up a goal early is not a positive thing but when you come back and show the ability to come back, that’s important.”
USC Upstate middle forward Cam Philpot wasted no time getting the Spartans on the board. In the second minute of play, Philpot sent a header into the net off a corner kick from defender Calon Minors.The header was three yards out from the far post, leaving little room for keeper William Pyle to react and putting the Gamecocks in catchup mode.
“I didn’t see 100 percent what happened, but I know they did one of those set plays on the corner,” Pyle said. “One of our guys got beaten to the near post and they just flipped it on back.”
The Gamecocks didn’t take their first shot until the 11:32 mark when Mayr sent one wide of the net. They increased their control of possession as the half progressed, including two corner kicks and three shots in the first half from Mayr, who led the Gamecocks with 52 shots last season.
Freshman Soelberg scored his first career goal as a Gamecock in the 30th minute by crossing back to the front of the goal line and tapping the ball in from 11 feet out. Freshmen Justin Sukow and Mayr were credited with a double assist on the play.
“When we subbed them on half way through the first half, I was thinking ‘Wow the freshmen are really, they're really good',” Pyle said. “I mean hate putting the label ‘freshmen,’ because if you’re that good it shouldn't matter."
The Gamecocks tallied six shots on goal in the first half, while the Spartans garnered seven, including a near goal from USC Upstate’s Connor Deany, who whizzed a shot just wide of the net and a diving Pyle.
South Carolina kept the pressure on USC Upstate in the second period, frustrating the Spartans into committing 15 total fouls. A foul drawn by freshman forward Benjamin Gilligan proved to be the most costly for the Spartans, as Mayr scored the go-ahead goal and his first of the season on a penalty kick to the left.
With the win, the Gamecocks improved to 1-0 on the season and Berson moved into fourth place on the all-time NCAA Division I wins list. The Gamecocks will look to spark a win streak when they host Mercer at 7 p.m. on Monday at Stone Stadium.