South Carolina looks to right the ship against USF after 0-3 road trip
If anyone is glad to be back in Columbia, it is the South Carolina men’s soccer team.
The Gamecocks are coming off of three road losses in six days. To make matters worse, South Carolina had lengthy trips to New Jersey and New York after its trip to Coastal Carolina.
So for coach Mark Berson and his players, there is nothing like a little home-cooking to get things back on track.
The Gamecocks will host the Gamecock Classic this season and will take on South Florida Friday at 7 p.m. before wrapping up with a game against Dartmouth Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
“It’s huge,” Berson said. “The student support has been unbelievable for our games. I hope that Friday night we can have a great crowd out there.”
Berson, who is in his 35th season at South Carolina, said that the student support this season has been the best in all his years in Columbia.
As Berson has mentioned before, the layouts of soccer stadiums are not universal across the country. He said that the field at Coastal Carolina was “very narrow,” while the field at St. Johns was a big AstroTurf field on top of a parking garage.
So Berson said the familiar pitch at Stone Stadium, paired with fan support, should provide a better advantage this weekend. The Gamecocks are 2-0 at home, outscoring opponents 6-2.
South Carolina was without junior midfielder Braeden Troyer for nearly two games because he drew a red card two minutes into the match at Coastal Carolina.
Berson said that really hurt the team, but it also gave other players a chance to learn the system.
“The fact that we had to use different players in different positions is a growth opportunity for those different players,” Berson said.
Berson added that it was encouraging to see his team hang in with some of the better teams in the country on the road trip. The Gamecocks had their chances but were unable to cash in on them.
South Carolina had 29 shots, including 14 on goal, in the three road games. However, the Gamecocks only scored one goal in all three matches.
“We’ll learn from that,” Berson said. “Obviously, it comes at the price of those losses, which is not what we want, but you do get a lot out of it. It’s better than playing weak teams and only having the win in terms of what you learn.”
Berson said his team must cut down on defensive mistakes and capitalize on the scoring opportunities but that he is confident in his team.
Sophomore midfielder Ryan Arambula, who had four shots on goal on the road trip, agrees with his coach.
“I know for a fact that everyone has still got the high morale that we had when we played against High Point,” Arambula said. “Despite the fact that we lost all of the games on the road trip, I don’t think it reflects the way we played. I hate saying that, because we still didn’t get the result, but I think that everyone just needs to get better and better.”
South Carolina will be relying on its fan support to help them break the losing streak, and Arambula and his teammates are expecting another good turnout.
“Having those students out there, that’s like the greatest feeling to know that we have support,” Arambula said.