Men’s soccer goes 0-3 on road trip
The South Carolina men’s soccer team wrapped up their three-game road trip on Sunday, falling short to Coastal Carolina, No. 12 St. John’s, and Rutgers.
South Carolina (2-4-0) was outscored 7-1 in its three-game stretch. Coach Mark Berson said the team fought hard against its opponents, but scheduling and the opposing team’s talent proved to be too much for the Gamecocks.
“This was a very difficult stretch of schedule for two reasons. The first reason is that all three teams either are, or will be nationally ranked,” Berson said. “All three teams will more than likely be in the NCAA playoffs. The other thing that made it difficult was the timing of it. Tuesday, Friday and Sunday is a really difficult, physical stretch.”
Junior midfielder Braeden Troyer was given a red card in the Coastal Carolina game. The Chanticleers quickly stomped out the Gamecocks 1-0 lead, as South Carolina had to play a man down on the road for 80 minutes. Troyer was then forced to sit in the stands for the game against St. John’s as a result of his booking in the previous game. Despite the loss to the Red Storm, Troyer said the team is not concerned about the reminder of the season.
“Everyone knows the game well, everyone is coming together, growing together, becoming mature,” Troyer said. “Hopefully we can bring it all together and start getting some wins.”
Following the 3-0 loss to Rutgers, Berson said he believed the team had some good chances, but simply put, Rutgers outplayed the Gamecocks on Sunday. Berson acknowledged the strengths of the programs his team faced in the stretch, but said the losses will be treated as a learning curve for the team.
“There was sort of a cumulative effect from the three road games,” Berson said, “We don’t have the results that we would have liked to have, but I think that the important thing now is that we move forward and we learn from those tough games.”
Freshman goalkeeper Marco Velez made his first career start on Friday against St. John’s as redshirt sophomore and usual starter Robert Beebe was nursing an injury. Velez collected three saves in the 1-0 loss to the Red Storm and three more saves in the losing effort against the Scarlet Knights.
Velez said he felt comfortable with his teammates, and that his backline helped him out.
The defense for the Gamecocks, while suspect at times, wasn’t the main trouble for South Carolina. One goal in three games won’t get the job done against strong, physically gifted teams like Rutgers or St. John’s.
“I think our main focus is scoring goals. Lately we have had troubles scoring goals,” Velez said. “If our midfielders and attacking players have better communication, we can sort out our troubles.”