The South Carolina men’s soccer team dropped its matchup against No. 25 Kentucky 2-1 on Oct. 19 in Lexington. The Gamecocks drew a 1-1 final last week against Old Dominion and looked to gain three more points in Sun Belt Conference play.
The Wildcats had three early shots in the beginning of the match to pressure the Gamecock defense. Sophomore goalkeeper Filip Versterre had three big saves to keep the Gamecocks in the match early.
Kentucky continued to dominate possession for the rest of the first half, shutting out any offensive production that South Carolina attempted in the first 45 minutes of play.
In the first half, the Wildcats had 11 shots with five on goal along with nine corner kicks. The Gamecocks were unable to produce any shots in the first half and had five fouls.
Senior defender William Nilsson had the first shot of the match for the Gamecocks in the 53rd minute.
South Carolina had another close look a few minutes later after a shot from senior midfielder Ethan Ballek was saved by senior goalkeeper Sebastian Conlon.
Despite the slow offense, the Gamecocks were able to take the lead on a penalty kick goal by Ballek in the 60th minute.
The Wildcats found the equalizer in the 66th minute with a penalty kick goal by sophomore midfielder Agustin Lopez.
Kentucky sophomore forward Bains Smith had the go-ahead goal in the 80th minute to secure the 2-1 win.
Wildcats overwhelm South Carolina defense
The Kentucky offense dominated the Gamecocks in the matchup for the entire 90 minutes. The Wildcats had 21 shots compared to the Gamecocks' five. Kentucky also had 14 corner kicks while South Carolina managed to earn only two. South Carolina was also called offsides three times during the match.
Even with the two goals scored by the Wildcats, Versterre had nine saves on the day. The nine saves are a new season high for the sophomore goalkeeper, who now has a save percentage of 0.651 and 41 total saves this season.
Slow start for offense
The Gamecocks were completely shut out for a majority of the match on Sunday.
Ballek made his return to the starting lineup against the Wildcats after missing the game against Old Dominion. The lone goal was scored by Ballek, his sixth of the season.
Substitutions were made in the first half with junior midfielder Mika Habel and senior midfielder Ted Cargill along with freshman forward Matthew DeJianne coming in to find an offensive spark.
The Gamecocks managed all five shots in the second half but were still unable to keep up with the Wildcats 10 just in that half.
Sun Belt Conference play continues
After the halfway mark of conference play, South Carolina currently sits in the middle of conference standings after the 2-1 loss against Kentucky. In Sun Belt play, the Gamecocks are 1-2-2.
The Gamecocks' conference schedule continues as they travel to No.12 ranked Marshall on Oct. 22 and then host Coastal Carolina on Oct. 26. Marshall, the reigning national runners-up, are ranked at the top of the Sun Belt Conference standings and currently 4-1 in Sun Belt play, tied with West Virginia.
The top eight teams in the conference qualify for the Sun Belt Tournament in November, which will be a motivator for the team as conference play continues.
What’s next?
South Carolina travels to Huntington, West Virginia to take on No. 12 Marshall on Oct. 22. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be streaming on ESPN+.