When Austria native Luca Mayr decided to move more than 5,000 miles overseas to play college soccer, he wanted to make sure the program he chose was the perfect fit.
For the sophomore midfielder and forward, coach Mark Berson’s program at the University of South Carolina was just that.
“It was especially coach Berson and the two old assistant coaches who talked to me,” Mayr said. “I just thought the place fits well. It’s a good university. It’s a good program. Obviously, the facility is probably one of the best in the country. It’s just all of the components that came together.”
Mayr helped the Gamecocks earn a 2-1 win in their regular season opener against USC Upstate on Friday at Stone Stadium. He led the team with five shots, and contributed not only an assist but also shot the go-ahead goal on a penalty kick.
Freshman forward Benjamin Gilligan drew a foul off USC Upstate’s Cam Philpot inside the box in the 65th minute. Mayr was tabbed to take the kick and had no doubts in the result when he stepped up to take it, “It’s about to be a goal,” Mayr said.
The win moved Berson into fourth place on the NCAA Division I all-time wins list. While Berson is also the winningest active coach in NCAA Division I men's soccer, Mayr said Berson’s positive attitude is what initially made him commit to the Gamecocks.
“Coach has been here for a lot of years, like he’s been here for 40 years. He has a lot of experience and does a good job,” Mayr said. “He’s a really nice guy and he stays casual. If you do something wrong, he’s going to tell you what you did wrong and not be like negative. He just tries to make it better.”
Mayr, who was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team, started all 20 matches in 2016. He led the team with 52 shots and ranked second with 18 shots on goal last season. According to GamecocksOnline, his 2.60 shots per game ranked fourth in C-USA.
“Luca’s an explosive player,” Berson said. “He clearly makes some things happen for us out there. With some of the guys we have out right now, there’s a little more on his shoulders . . . It was an overall group effort, but clearly Luca provided a lot of spark.”
This season, Mayr is one of three returning starters to the team, which has 14 newcomers, including nine freshmen. Mayr said he worked with the freshmen for two months this summer and was impressed with what he saw.
“It can be positive and negative. The new guys want to play so obviously we have a lot of competition,” Mayr said. “I think our depth this year is much better and deeper so we can put in the new guys at all times and just continue playing on a high level.”
Mayr and the Gamecocks will look to spark a win streak in their next match against Mercer at Stone Stadium at 7 p.m. on Monday.