South Carolina Gamecocks men's soccer

The South Carolina Gamecocks men's soccer team represents the University of South Carolina and, as of the 2022 college soccer season, competes in the Sun Belt Conference. The team is coached by Tony Annan, who succeeded Mark Berson as head coach after the 2020 season.[a] Berson had been the Gamecocks' only head coach since the program's inception in 1978 and had participated in 20 NCAA Tournaments, reaching the Quarterfinals on four occasions. Since 1981, South Carolina has played its home games at Stone Stadium, which is affectionately called "The Graveyard" by South Carolina fans due to an adjoining cemetery.[2][3]

South Carolina Gamecocks
Founded1978; 46 years ago (1978)
UniversityUniversity of South Carolina
Head coachTony Annan (2nd season)
ConferenceSun Belt
LocationColumbia, South Carolina
StadiumStone Stadium
(Capacity: 5,700)
NicknameGamecocks
ColorsGarnet and black[1]
   
Home
Away
NCAA Tournament runner-up
1993
NCAA Tournament College Cup
1988, 1993
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
1985, 1988, 1989, 1993
NCAA Tournament Round of 16
1979, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2010
NCAA Tournament Round of 32
1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2010, 2015, 2016
NCAA Tournament appearances
1979, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016
Conference Tournament championships
C-USA: 2005, 2010
Conference Regular Season championships
Metro: 1993
C-USA: 2011

Program history

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South Carolina first fielded a men's soccer team in 1978 under the direction of current coach Mark Berson. The program wasted little time making a name for itself on the national stage, as it reached the NCAA Quarterfinals in 1985. The 14-year period from 1985 to 1998 was a dominant era for South Carolina, as it posted a 213–61–22 overall record with 12 NCAA Tournament appearances. Of the 12 NCAA Tournament trips during this run, the Gamecocks advanced to the second round or beyond on nine occasions.

Throughout its history, South Carolina has made 22 NCAA Tournaments, with four Quarterfinal appearances, two Semi-final appearances, and a 1993 National Runner-up finish. The 1993 squad won 16 contests before falling to Virginia 2–0 in the National Title game. The Gamecocks' most recent NCAA Tournament appearance came in 2016. Since the SEC does not sponsor NCAA Men's Soccer, South Carolina has participated as an Independent (even in its original years in the Metro Conference), finally joining the Metro for men's soccer in 1993 and 1994, but was forced back to independent status following the 1995 reunification with the Great Midwest Conference to form Conference USA (C-USA) until 2005, when Kentucky left the Mid-American Conference in order to allow the two SEC schools to play in C-USA together. South Carolina and Kentucky continued to play in C-USA through the 2021 season, after which both left to join the revived men's soccer league of the Sun Belt Conference.

In terms of conference championships, South Carolina won the Metro Conference season title in 1993 and the Conference USA tournament in 2005 and 2010, along with its regular season title in 2011.

Head coaches

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Coaches history

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Name Years Seasons Won Lost Tie Pct.
Mark Berson 1978–2020 43 511 261 76 .654
Tony Annan 2021–present 1 5 9 2 .375
Total 44 516 270 78 .642

Year-by-year results

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Season Coach Record Notes
Overall Conference
1978 Mark Berson 13–3–1
1979 Mark Berson 14–5–0 NCAA First Round
1980 Mark Berson 12–5–2
1981 Mark Berson 16–4–1
1982 Mark Berson 12–5–2
1983 Mark Berson 8–11–2
1984 Mark Berson 14–4–2
1985 Mark Berson 20–3–1 NCAA Quarterfinals
1986 Mark Berson 17–5–0 NCAA First Round
1987 Mark Berson 16–2–3 NCAA Second Round
1988 Mark Berson 14–4–4 NCAA Semi-finals
1989 Mark Berson 17–3–2 NCAA Quarterfinals
1990 Mark Berson 14–5–2 NCAA Second Round
1991 Mark Berson 14–5–0
1992 Mark Berson 13–5–3 NCAA First Round
Metro Conference
1993 Mark Berson 16–4–4 4–0–1 Metro Champions; NCAA Runners-up
1994 Mark Berson 16–4 4–1–0 NCAA First Round
1995 Mark Berson 16–4–0 NCAA Second Round
1996 Mark Berson 8–9–2
1997 Mark Berson 16–3–1 NCAA Second Round
1998 Mark Berson 16–5–0 NCAA Second Round
1999 Mark Berson 10–7–2
2000 Mark Berson 12–4–3 NCAA First Round
2001 Mark Berson 12–5–2 NCAA Second Round
2002 Mark Berson 11–8–1 NCAA First Round
2003 Mark Berson 9–7–2
2004 Mark Berson 12–7–1 NCAA First Round
Conference USA
2005 Mark Berson 12–7–2 7–1–1 Conference USA Tournament Champions; NCAA First Round
2006 Mark Berson 11–5–1 4–3–1
2007 Mark Berson 11–6–2 4–2–2
2008 Mark Berson 8–6–5 2–2–4
2009 Mark Berson 7–8–3 2–4–2
2010 Mark Berson 13–7–2 4–2–2 Conference USA Tournament Champions; NCAA Third Round
2011 Mark Berson 9–7–3 6–1–1 Conference USA Regular Season Champions; NCAA First Round
2012 Mark Berson 5–11–2 2–5–1
2013 Mark Berson 7–7–5 4–2–3
2014 Mark Berson 10–10–0 3–5–0
2015 Mark Berson 11–8–2 6–2–0 NCAA Second Round
2016 Mark Berson 11–8–1 5–2–1 NCAA Second Round
2017 Mark Berson 6–9–2 2–4–2
2018 Mark Berson 7–10–0 2–6–0
2019 Mark Berson 7–9–2 2–5–0
2020 Mark Berson 8–7–1 2–4–1
2021 Tony Annan 5–9–2 1–5–2
Sun Belt Conference
2022 Tony Annan 5-8-4 1-4-3
2023 Tony Annan 6-9-3 3-4-2

Championships

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Records

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All-Time career leaders

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Scoring

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Career Points
Rank Player Goals Assists Points Years
1 Doug Allison 63 32 158 1984–87
2 Chris Faklaris 55 14 124 1991–94
3 Clint Mathis 53 15 121 1994–97
4 Clark Brisson 36 26 98 1987–90
5 Dan Ratcliff 37 20 94 1983–86
6 Jordan Quinn 37 13 87 1999-02
7 Andrew Coggins 33 15 81 1988–91
8 Brian Winstead 33 14 80 1978–79
9 Billy Baumhoff 22 34 78 1991–94
Rob Smith 19 40 78 1991–94

Goalkeeping

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Single season records

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Points: 53, Clint Mathis-1995
Goals: 25, Clint Mathis-1995
Assists: 16, Rubén Tufiño-1989
GAA: 0.49, Charles Arndt-1987
Shutouts: 13, Warren Lipka – 1985

Notable former players

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Current professionals

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Retired professionals

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In other fields

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Due to COVID-19 issues, the NCAA moved the Division I men's soccer tournament from its normal fall 2020 schedule to spring 2021. The NCAA continued to designate that season as the "2020" season.

References

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  1. ^ "Colors – Communications and Public Affairs | University of South Carolina". Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  2. ^ "University of South Carolina Official Athletic Site". Gamecocksonline.com. Retrieved 2015-04-26.
  3. ^ "Stone Stadium Review". stadiumjourney.com. Retrieved 2015-04-26.
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