The South Carolina men’s soccer team saw its three-game win streak end Friday night against No. 10 Marshall, who picked up a 2-1 win.
The loss was the Gamecocks' first of the 2024 season. Marshall has won its last eight meetings against South Carolina, dating back to 2016, when the Gamecocks beat the Thundering Herd on its home turf.
Though Marshall managed to pull ahead in the second half, the game was evenly matched, with five shots on goal and seven corner kicks for each team.
South Carolina started the match on the right foot after senior forward Harrison Myring made an attempt towards goal three minutes into the match. Numerous penetrations into the Gamecocks' attacking third were stopped by Marshall’s defense, but the home team got on the scoreboard first with a goal from junior midfielder Ethan Ballek in the 20th minute.
Marshall responded three minutes later and tied the score at one goal apiece after a strike from senior forward Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos.
Both teams racked up fouls with 11 from Marshall and eight from South Carolina. But cards were not given out until the second half when each team was given two yellow cards.
Both teams exchanged possession throughout the second half until junior midfielder Alex Stjernegaard volleyed a shot off a missed header to make the score 2-1, allowing Marshall to gain the lead.
The Gamecocks had numerous opportunities to tie the score once again, including a shot from senior forward Harrison Myring, who was unable to convert a one-on-one opportunity against Thundering Herd junior goalkeeper Aleksa Janjic. Another strong one-two passing sequence allowed the Gamecocks to press forward, leading to another shot from junior defenseman William Nilsson that helped South Carolina earn a corner kick.
Despite the Gamecocks' renewed urgency, the team was unable to even the score, leading to its first loss of the season.
South Carolina's offense relies on long balls
South Carolina's offense relied on a straightforward strategy — hitting long balls, thus allowing the team's forwards to run past the final line of Marshall's defense.
"We thought going into the game that we could have some success with our speed up top, trying to turn them again and get behind them," fifth-year defender Andrew Goldsworthy said.
But the first half featured three offsides calls against the Gamecocks, each of which put an end to those goal-scoring opportunities. The lone goal South Carolina scored came from open play, and the team was unable to land a second shot in the net.
"I mean, they're a good team. You gotta be pretty consistent and precise with your passing," Goldsworthy said. "If it's a little off, it's not gonna get through. I thought we had quite a bit of success, especially as the game went on. Early on, we needed a second to grow into the game, but later on, found a lot of success."
Halftime provided opportunity to adjust, reset
The Gamecocks were unable to score a second-half goal to match or take the lead against Marshall, but head coach Tony Annan said the last 45 minutes were strong for the Gamecocks.
“They’re a very good team, they played very well," Annan said. "We probably didn’t come alive until the second half."
The halftime break allowed for the team to increase urgency in its play and make tactical changes for the second half, Annan said.
“We tweaked the formation up a little bit, and pushed on a little bit further up the field, which we hadn’t been doing, we’d been a bit deep," Annan said. "So we just rotated a few positions, tweaked the formation and asked the guys to have a bit more urgency in their play.”
The last 45 minutes featured nine shots from the Gamecocks and seven from Marshall.
Goldsworthy played major role as last line of defense
As Marshall's front line pushed up into South Carolina's defensive third, Goldsworthy proved to be crucial for the Gamecocks' defense with numerous headers and sliding blocks over the course of the game.
"Obviously, when you're down a goal late in the game, you're going to start throwing numbers forward," Goldsworthy said. "So, we've got less and less guys on the back line as we try to score."
Goldsworthy said he appreciates the pressure and opportunity that comes from shutting down opposing threats in his team's box.
"I welcome it," Goldsworthy said. "Saving a goal is almost better than scoring one, in my opinion, so I live for blocking goals and ruining the dreams of forwards."
What's next?
The Gamecocks will host Queens University at home on Tuesday. The match will be streamed on SEC+ Network, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.