No. 24 Gamecock Soccer Hosts Mercer On Tuesday

COLUMBIA, S.C. (USC SID) — No. 24 South Carolina men’s soccer (0-1-0) will host Mercer (1-0-0) on Tuesday at Stone Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., vs. the Bears. The match begins a month-long promotion for Ovarian Cancer awareness. The Gamecocks will wear teal warmup shirts for the contest, and fans who wear teal will receive $1 admission (read below for more details).

GAMECOCK QUICK HITS
– Mark Berson is the winningest active NCAA Division I coach, 5th on the all-time NCAA D1 list
– Berson is tied for the most NCAA Tournament appearances among active DI coaches with 21
– South Carolina has two C-USA Tournament titles and two regular-season crowns in 11 years
– The 2015 Gamecocks advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament
– The Gamecocks return 17 letterwinners from last season’s squad
– South Carolina returns eight starters from last season’s squad
– The Gamecocks were undefeated at Stone Stadium last season with an 8-0-2 record
– Senior midfielder Danny Deakin leads the Carolina offense after scoring 11 goals last season
– Deakin and fellow senior Koty Millard were both named to the 2016 Preseason All-C-USA Team
– Deakin was named to the CollegeSoccerNews 2016 Preseason All-America Second Team
– The Gamecocks are ranked 24th in the Preseason NSCAA Top 25 Poll, No. 24 in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Preseason Poll and No. 21 in the CollegeSoccerNews Preseason National Poll
– The Gamecocks are set to face six teams that are also ranked in the NSCAA preseason list, including No. 3 Clemson, No. 5 Wake Forest, No. 21 Coastal Carolina, No. 22 Charlotte, No. 23 FIU and No. 25 Rutgers.
– The Gamecocks were 1-1-1 in exhibition games to start the 2016 season, posting a home win vs. Winthrop
– South Carolina posted a 1-1 draw vs. No. 8 North Carolina and suffered a 2-0 loss at College of Charleston in the two other exhibitions this fall
– The Gamecocks suffered a 2-1 loss vs. No. 3 Clemson in the 2016 season opener on Aug. 26
– Senior forward Kevin Walker scored Carolina’s goal vs. Clemson; it was his sixth as a Gamecock