If the Gamecocks’ 7-7-5 record from a year ago strikes you as unimpressive, head coach Mark Berson thinks you should look again.
A quartet of road losses to open up the season paired with a number of key injuries threw much of Berson’s freshman class into the fire early in the year.
But he thinks the team is better for it.
“We got off to a slow start, but I think what I was most pleased about with the group last year was their mental toughness,” Berson said. Berson has been the Gamecocks’ men’s soccer coach since 1978. “As a team, they just showed steady growth. It was difficult because, when you don’t have success in the beginning, you can doubt yourself. And they didn’t.”
South Carolina lost its starting goalkeeper in the fourth match of the season last year, redshirt junior midfielder Dan Traxler broke his leg and junior midfielder Ryan Arambula was forced to miss nearly half the season due to a foot injury.
Losses at key positions on the pitch forced green, inexperienced freshmen to mature quickly, something that will behoove the squad as they move into the 2014 season.
But despite the injuries, South Carolina managed a 4-2-3 conference record down the stretch, which landed them in fourth place.
Berson highlighted the play of freshmen—now sophomores—Koty Millard, Ive Burnett, Kurtis Turner and Eli Dent who were able to earn valuable playing time last season.
Burnett and Millard manned a Gamecocks defense that posted six shutouts a year ago, a number that was good enough to tie the team for fourth place in the Conference USA for shutouts.
Not to be outdone, senior defenders Mahamoudou Kaba and Braeden Troyer both received spots on the Conference USA 2014 Preseason All-Conference team, with Kaba obtaining the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year award.
Kaba’s recognition comes on the heels of a 2013 season where he was named to the conference’s first team.
Troyer, who made the switch from midfielder to center back to bolster the team’s back line, was named to the All-Conference third team his freshman year, and was a recipient of All-Conference second team honors in both his sophomore and junior year.
With a handful of returning players, South Carolina’s defense will likely be its anchor yet again. The Gamecocks conceded 10 goals in nine conference games last season, but if you take away the team’s 4-3 win over UAB late in the season, that statistic moves to a more impressive seven goals in eight games.
South Carolina’s victories over top conference teams New Mexico and UAB have the team poised for a successful run in 2014—a run that Berson expects.
“I expect us to be a team that will be in contention for the conference championship. I expect us to be a team in contention for an NCAA bid,” Berson said. “I think we just have to build upon where we were last year. As long as we move forward from last year, we’ll be in great shape.”