After losing its first game of the season, the South Carolina men’s soccer team is looking to rebound in Conway when the Gamecocks visit the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers Tuesday night.
South Carolina entered its last match against the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks undefeated at 3-0-0 and ranked in the NSCAA top 25 for the first time in three seasons. However, the No. 17 Gamecocks could not garner a fourth-consecutive win when the Seahawks beat South Carolina by a score of two goals to one.
As is the standard in a losing effort, head coach Mark Berson said he wasn’t satisfied with the way his team played against UNC-Wilmington.
“I don’t think we were sharp. I don’t think we were alert,” Berson said. “The first 15 minutes we came out and executed exactly like we want to, we scored a goal and then we just stopped playing.”
South Carolina’s only goal came early in the match when sophomore defender Ive Burnett blasted an unassisted goal into the upper right corner of the Seahawks net. And, despite goalkeeper Marco Velez’s five saves, two balls were able to get by the sophomore to give Wilmington the win.
Heading into Tuesday’s game against Coastal Carolina, Berson said he hopes that the tough loss can be a stepping stone for the team to continue to improve as the season continues.
“This was a game we can learn from," he said. "We need to move forward and that’s our objective."
The matchup against the Chanticleers will be the first road game for the men’s team this season. The Chanticleers sit at 2-2-0 after victories over Connecticut (3-2) and UNC-Charlotte (2-1), and losses to Maryland (2-3) and Furman (0-1).
However, despite the .500 winning percentage through four games, Coastal Carolina shouldn’t be overlooked on the Gamecocks' schedule.
The Chanticleers lead the all-time series against South Carolina 6-2-1 since the first meeting took place in 1978, and the Chanticleers have dominated the series in recent history.
South Carolina hasn't been able to defeat Coastal in the last five tries.
“It’s our first road match and they’re also a very good team,” Berson said. “Right now, we have a lot of work to do and a short amount of time to do it and that’s just the way it is. The games come fast and furious and our objective is to keep getting better game after game.”