South Carolina Gamecocks men's soccer


The South Carolina Gamecocks men's soccer team represents the University of South Carolina and competes in Conference USA. The team has been coached by Mark Berson since its inception in 1978 and has 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.

Program history

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, 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 until 2005, when Kentucky left the Mid-American Conference in order to allow the two SEC schools to play in Conference USA together.
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

Year-by-year results

Championships

All-Time career leaders

Scoring

Goalkeeping

Single season records

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

Current professionals