USC battles to scoreless tie after Friday loss to St. John’s 
The South Carolina men's soccer team battled Northwestern to a 0-0 draw Sunday afternoon at Stone Stadium on a sweltering afternoon.
The game, scoreless after regulation and two overtimes, gave the Gamecocks a 0-1-1 record in the Gamecock Classic tournament, after No. 15 St. John's University beat them 2-0 on Friday night. St. John's was the tournament winner, earning a 2-1 victory over Kentucky on Sunday in addition to its win over South Carolina.
Gamecocks coach Mark Berson said after the game that the two schools his squad played in the tournament were quite different in style and that his players rose to the challenge of having to prepare differently for each game.
"We like to measure ourselves against the best," he said. And (St John's and Northwestern) are very good teams. They're two completely different styles of play...and it forced us to adjust in two games to play a little bit differently. And I was really pleased that our players did that."
Northwestern took five shots in the game, while USC finished with 14. South Carolina strikers Bradlee Baladez and Snoopy Davidson each had a shot on goal for the Gamecocks. Northwestern had 12 corner kicks to South Carolina's eight. Both goalkeepers, Northwestern's Tyler Miller and South Carolina's Alex Long, had three saves.
Berson felt that his team had generated enough offense to conceivably win both games in the tournament.
"I thought we created enough chances (Sunday) to maybe come out a little bit better than we did," he said. "Against St. John's, for 80 minutes it was a very even game that I think we were in, but they found a way to convert a couple of big plays late."
Berson said he was also pleased that a few of his younger players saw time in Sunday's game, in part because of the heat tiring his starting 11 faster than usual and because it was the team's second game in less than 48 hours. He noted that his sophomore players in particular had learned and adapted to college ball as freshmen last year, and they are now making an impact in games. Although the Gamecocks were shut out twice this weekend, he praised the team's effort on the defensive end.
"Our defense played well," he said. "I thought that (defenders) Kevin Stam and Eric Martinez (playing well) wasn't a surprise. They're veterans. Alex Long has really stepped up and is playing with a lot of confidence and has made some big saves. It's great to see (the defense's) growth and development. We expect that, but it's great to see it happen."
In Friday night's contest, St. John's got a goal in the 80th minute from midfielder Nick Matthews when a rebound off the post fell right to his feet at the top of the 6-yard box. Andres Vargas scored off a header in the 86th minute to make it 2-0. Red Storm keeper Rafael Diaz posted three saves in the shutout. Baladez and sophomore midfielder Braeden Toyer had three shots each for South Carolina, while Alex Long had three saves.
South Carolina travels to Tampa, Fla., on Thursday for a game against No. 3 South Florida, and another against Florida Gulf Coast University on Saturday.