After beginning its season 1-2, the South Carolina men’s soccer team has won four of its last five matches to start its 2025 campaign with a 5-3 record. With its non-conference schedule coming to a close, the squad looks to keep things going in the right direction heading into games in the Sun Belt schedule.
With the team’s win total trending in the right direction, head coach Tony Annan said that his mindset is based more on improving every day rather than setting a target win total.
“It’s more of a process for me than it is goal setting. I’m a firm believer (that) if you follow your process and you do everything step-by-step, you’ll reach your goals,” Annan said. “But at the end of the day, we want to do as well as we did last year and take it further.”
The 2024 South Carolina men’s soccer team finished its season 10-5-2. This was the first time since 2016 that the Gamecocks recorded a winning record and won double-digit games.
The Gamecocks has displayed its roster depth this season by commonly constructing different starting lineups for each of its games this season. So far in 2025, 19 different outfield players have been granted a start for the Gamecocks, as senior midfielder Alexander Sternegaard is the only outfield player to have started every game this season.
Annan said that with 14 new players joining the squad for the 2025 season, it is naturally going to take several games to settle on a desired lineup.
“We’re trying to figure out what our best combination of players is to win games,” Annan said.
Through its first eight games of the season, the South Carolina offense has been able to find the back of the net at least once in seven of those matches. Junior midfielder Mika Habel said the team has set up its scoring opportunities by being aggressive.
“We try to attack aggressively, and that includes everyone from every position. So, if there's a chance to get behind the line, you do it,” Habel said. “I try to execute what the coaches taught us and get the ball in the net.”
Senior midfielder Ethan Ballek leads the club in points this year, tallying five goals and four assists. Senior forward Tyler Trimnal, Habel and freshman forward Matthew DeJianne are amongst the rest of the South Carolina players to record multiple goals this season.
After making program history as the first pair of South Carolina players to be taken in the same MLS SuperDraft, Ballek and junior midfielder Jonah Biggar returned to the program to hold and facilitate the middle of the formation. The duo both got credited for assists in the 2-1 victory over No. 11 UNC Greensboro on Sept. 13 when they connected with sophomore forward Loïc Sany Kong in the 83rd minute for what was the eventual game winning goal.
With the team heading into conference play with a winning record, which includes a win over a top-15 team in the country, Biggar said that it will be important for South Carolina to continue its success into the Sun Belt schedule.
“We’re looking to win,” Biggar said. “But most importantly win conference games … and get to the conference tournament. And hopefully make the NCAA tournament."
Last season, the Gamecocks fell short to the Kentucky Wildcats in the opening round of the conference tournament and failed to reach the NCAA tournament. South Carolina’s 5-3 record puts it 4th out of the Sun Belt’s 10 teams in non-conference winning percentage.
Senior defender William Nilsson has seen the most field time for the Gamecocks this season with 647 minutes, playing a key role in holding down the back line for the club. Sixth-year defender Andrew Goldsworthy has also seen significant playing time on the defensive line.
After playing every minute of every match as a freshman, sophomore goalkeeper Filip Versterre has returned as South Carolina’s starter in 2025. After posting a 1.12 goals against average last year, Versterre and the defense has allowed just under two goals a game so far this season.
What’s Next?
The South Carolina men’s soccer team will begin its conference schedule versus the Georgia State Panthers on Sept. 19. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Stone Stadium.