Gamecocks complete road schedule Friday night – University of South Carolina Athletics

ORLANDO, Fla. – The South Carolina men's soccer team concludes the away portion of the regular season when the Gamecocks travel to UCF on Friday (Nov. 1) for a 7 p.m. game.

Game Day Information – #WEareCarolina
When: November 1st | 7 p.m
Where: Orlando, Florida.
Venue: UCF Football and Track and Field Complex (2,000)
Transmitted: ESPN+
Live statistics: StatBroadcast
Series history: South Carolina leads 9-2-4
Last meeting: South Carolina 2, UCF 1 | November 5, 2023 | Orlando, Florida.

RV South Carolina Gamecocks 9-3-2, 4-3-0 Sun Belt
Trainer: Tony Annan | 4th season – 25.29.11
Target guide: 9 | Ethan Ballek and Harrison Myring
Assistant manager: 5 | Alejandro Velazquez Lopez
Points leader: 22 | Ethan Ballek
Shot leader: 44 | Ethan Ballek
Saves Leaders: 41| Filip Versterre

UCF Knights 5-5-3, 3-4-0 Sun Belt
Trainer: Scott Calabrese | 8th season
Target guide: 4 | Emmanuel Bam
Assistant manager: 6 | Clarence Awoudor
Points leader: 12 | Clarence Awoudor
Shot leader: 27 | Anderson Rosa
Saves Leaders: 24 | Shane Wright

Take the pitch

• This will be the 16th meeting between the Gamecocks and Knights.
• Carolina won their first meeting 1-0 in Orlando on November 5, 1979.
• The Gamecocks defeated the then-No. 1 Knights 2-1 in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament last season.
• The Gamecocks are 5-1-1 all-time in Orlando, with their only loss coming in 2019.
• UCF has won two of the last three meetings, but Carolina has won four of the last six.
• All-time, Carolina has a points advantage of 28-14.

Short notes

• Carolina received votes in this week's coaches poll, ranking 25th according to TopDrawerSoccer.
• Jonah Biggar was born on October 29th. named Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week.
• Last season they led the nation with 4,306 spectators for the second year in a row.
• That's likely to continue this season, as this season already boasts the second, third and ninth largest viewership in the program's history.
  • 6,622 attended the season opener against Winthrop (August 22) and 6,400 against Clemson (August 30). These games rank 3rd and 4th nationally for singles participation this season. The Marshall and Kentucky games are also in the top 10.
• All 10 home games rank in the NCAA's top 37 for single-game attendance on campus.
• The Gamecocks rank 4th nationally in shooting accuracy, 7th in offensive rating, 8th in goal difference, 12th in total goals and points per game, 17th in total points scored, 20th in winning percentage, 22nd in shots on goal per game and 29th in assists per game.
• Harrison Myring ranks 20th nationally in goals per game, 23rd in total goals and 28th in points per game.
• Ethan Ballek ranks 22nd in total goals, total points and points per game, 23rd in shots per game and shots on goal per game, and 25th in goals per game.
• Filip Versterre ranks 38th in goals against average and 48th in shutouts.
• Carolina played its 500th game ever at the Graveyard against Belmont (9/7).
• Carolina had its six-game unbeaten streak snapped against No. 10 Marshall.
  • It was the longest unbeaten streak to start a season since seven straight wins at the start of the 2003 season.
  • It was the longest unbeaten streak since 2016, which included eight games in a row.
• Andrew Goldsworthy was born on August 10th. named Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week.
• Carolina's game against Jacksonville was stopped in the 50th minute. The game took 70 minutes to become official as the two teams will attempt to resume it at a later date.
• Carolina scored a point in its first three games for the first time since 2014.
• Harrison Myring scored a goal in each of the first three games of the season, becoming the first player to do so since Brian Banahan in the spring 2021 season.
• The seven goals scored by Carolina in the season opener were the most in a game since eight goals against the Citadel in the 1999 season opener on September 1st.
• The 27 shots attempted by the Gamecocks were the most since they also attempted 27 shots against Georgia Southern on Sept. 13, 2016.
  • Carolina had 21 shots on goal on the night. Although no program records are kept, this is the highest rating for a game since at least 1999.
• Ethan Ballek scored five points (two goals, one assist) in the season opener.
  • His goals came one after the other in the 34th and 40th minutes.
  • Ballek led the way with nine shots, becoming the first player since Sam Arthur on September 2, 2008 against Presbyterian to hit nine shots in a match.
• Harrison Myring, Alejandro Velazquez-Lopez, Martin Yahia, Grant Mateer and Einar Ness also scored.
  • It was the first collegiate goal for Velazquez-Lopez, Mateer and Ness.
• This is the 47th season of men's soccer in South Carolina.
• The Gamecocks have an all-time record of 535-290-87.
• The Gamecocks begin their third season in the Sun Belt Conference.
• Carolina was picked by the coaches to finish sixth in the conference.
• With 19 new additions, the squad contains many new faces from last season; 10 transfers and eight true freshmen.
• They return five regular players from last season, including three defensive starters and two midfielders.

For the latest information on men's soccer, visit GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team's social media accounts on Twitter @GamecockMSoccerFacebook /GamecockMSoccer and Instagram @GamecockMSoccer.