Gamecock men’s soccer opens season Friday night
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — South Carolina men’s soccer opens the 2017 season on Friday night at Stone Stadium versus USC Upstate. The match will begin at 7 p.m. with gates opening 1 hour prior to kickoff. The Gamecocks are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the program this season, which was established in 1978.
“The stuff we’ve given the guys to start with they’ve really taken to, so we’re happy with that. We’re just trying to build and keep getting better every day. We expect a very high-tempo, pressing game. We’re going to try and really push the tempo and take it to them. We’ll need the fans behind us the whole time.,” said Justin Cook
Longtime head soccer coach Greg Hooks retired in July after 22 seasons leading the program. After serving as an assistant for four seasons, alum Scott Halkett has taken over the reigns and is in his first season as head coach. The Spartans were picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll after coming off a 3-10 overall record and 1-5 conference record in 2016. An experienced group returns for Upstate, with 10 starters and 22 letterwinners back for the 2017 season. Senior Lukas Sommer was voted ASUN Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Sophomore Joel Buntint, who started all 13 games in 2016, led the team in points with nine a season ago (4G, 1A). Senior Santiago Restrepo is back after starting seven games last season in the net. He went 2-5 and made 28 saves, good for a .683 save percentage and a 1.95 GAA.
After tonight’s match, the Gamecocks return home on Monday, Aug. 28 to face Mercer at 7 p.m. It’ll be a rematch of last year’s NCAA First Round game at Stone Stadium, which Carolina won 1-0.
