I have been paying particular attention to the shifting landscape of men's collegiate soccer and, since USC is in my backyard, broke down the first seven Gamecock opponents in terms of their record and rosters.
For example, first year coach Tony Annan is currently 2-5-0 and inherited a program from Hall of Fame Coach Mark Berson who had directed the program's entire 43-year history since 1978. South Carolina compiled a 39-43-6 mark the past five years (2016-20) with two winning campaigns under Berson who won 511 matches at USC. Berson, a University of North Carolina alum, led The Citadel to an 11-5-0 record in 1977 before his arrival in Columbia where he guided the Gamecocks to 22 NCAA Tournaments and 35 winning seasons.
Score Result Opponent Record Players USA/SC International
0-1 ot L CHARLESTON (2-2-2) 27 15/9 12
4-1 W WINTHROP (2-3-0) 31 20/8 11
0-5 L @ Clemson (7-1-0) 30 21/6 9
1-2 L PRESBYTERIAN (4-1-1) 33 19/3 14
1-4 L COASTAL C.* (2-1-4) 36 17/0 19
0-1 L USC UPSTATE (2-4-1) 23 6/5 17
2-1 W MERCER (3-4-0) 25 22/0 3
South Carolina (2-5-0) 27 23/3 4
*Conference USA match
As you can see most of the USC foes are from the Palmetto State. By my count, that is 232 players from eight teams for an average roster size of 29 that includes 34 players (14.7%) from South Carolina, 143 from non-SC USA states (61.6%), and 89 internationals (38.3%).
Remaining 2021 schedule:
9/25 @ Charlotte*
9/28 GARDNER-WEBB
10/3 FLORIDA ATLANTIC*
10/9 @ UAB*
10/12 GEORGIA SOUTHERN
10/16 FIU*
10/23 @ Kentucky*
10/30 @ Marshall*
11/5 OLD DOMINION*
I am going to keep tabs on this as the season continues. Feel free to chime in with your own thoughts.
