The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, August 31, 2001, Image 10
Men’s soccer hopes to continue tradition
of excellence under coach Mark Berson
BY KYLE ALMOND
THE GAMECOCK
The USC men’s soccer team had
a good showing last weekend in a
preseason tournament, tying No. 3
Indiana and beating No. 23
Kentucky, but a Penn State team
hungry for revenge is right
around the corner.
The No. 17 Gamecocks will
open regular-season play Sunday
against PSU, and the Nittany
Lions are looking for redemption
aftei Carolina beat them 1-0 last
season. Penn State was No. 2 in the
nation at the time, and it will try
to return the favor this weekend
at the Graveyard.
Head fcoach Mark Berson said
he was pleased by his team’s play
at the IPFW Soccer Showcase last
weekend, but he knows Penn State
presents an even stronger chal
lenge.
“Penn State takes it to another
level,” Berson said Thursday.
“They’re just an outstanding
team. They have outstanding tal
ent, they’re well-coached, well-or
ganized and they’re one of the
teams of heritage in college soc
cer.
“We went up there last year and
won a very hard-fought, close
game 1-0, so
I’m sure they’re anxious to get
this game underway. And we are
too, because it’s going to be a great
test for our team.”
The Gamecocks tied Indiana 0-0
last Friday and defeated Kentucky
2-0 a couple days later. Berson was
encouraged, but he still said there
was room for improvement.
“Overall, I think it was a solid
performance,” Berson said of his
team’s effort in the tournament.
“I think it was sort of a workman
like performance, and that’s what
you like to see. If you want to see
anything (as a coach), you want to
see that the basics are in place and
the guys understand what they’re
doing.
“Now, we’ve got to eliminate
breakdowns and we’ve got to cap
italize on opportunities that the
other team gives us. That’s some
thing that we’ve been working on
this week.”
The Gamecocks can’t afford to
break down defensively with Penn
State’s Ricardo Villar on the field.
Villar, a senior midfielder from
Brazil, is a candidate for the
Hermann Trophy, given to the na
tion’s top collegiate soccer player.
He was injured for almost all of
last season, but had 13 goals in
1999 and was an All-American.
“Hopefully, we’ll force [Villar]
to do a little defending, too,”
Berson said. “We’re gonna have
to make sure that he doesn’t get
the ball in transition with us off
balance, because that’s when he
can be really dangerous.”
Villar is joined in the midfield
by senior Derek Poettiger, who
was Penn State’s leading scorer
last year with 32 points. Poettiger
scored 13 goals and added seven
assists in 2000.
“They’re excellent,” Berson
said of the Nittany Lions. “If I was
pointing to a game where we
would need all our fans, where
we’re gonna need all our focus and
all of our attention, it’s gonna be
Sunday at 2 o’clock. It’s a huge
game in college soccer, let alone
in our schedule.”
Berson is hoping for another
huge turnout from USC fans
Sunday. Last season, USC was
fifth in the country in attendance.
- “Homefield advantage for us is
enormous,” he said. “If you look
year after year, our fans are
among the top fans in the country.
We’re always in the top five or top
ten in attendance, and the
Graveyard is sort of the place to
be in Columbia on Sunday after
noon ... Our fans are unbelievable,
and I wish we had more home
games on the schedule.”
Sunday’s opener is also
Fan Appreciation Day at the
Graveyard. T-shirts will be
given to the first 500 USC stu
dents, and USC players will
be signing autographs after
the game. Tickets are free
with a student ID.
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Senior Jordan Quinn, No. 21, is expected to be one of the leaders of the men’s soccer
program this season, file photo
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