South Carolina defeats Clemson

Aug. 29, 2008

COLUMBIA, SC – Blake Brettschneider and Sam Arthur both scored a goal and had an assist each in leading South Carolina to a 2-0 win over Clemson in a men’s intercollegiate soccer match at Columbia, SC Friday night.

It was the season opener for both teams. A Stone Stadium record crowd of 6,102 witnessed the match. This was the second straight win over Clemson, the first time that the Gamecocks have won two straight matches in the series since the 1994 and 1995 seasons.

South Carolina scored at the 27:06 mark. Blake Brettschneider chipped a pass from the right. Sam Arthur sent a diagonal shot to the upper right corner of the goal from eight yards out.

The Gamecocks scored the second goal of the match in the 82nd minute. Arthur laid a pass to Brettschneider who took one step and sent a diagonal shot to the left wall of the net.

“We didn’t play poorly in the first half,” said Clemson Head Coach Trevor Adair. “South Carolina did a great job of plugging up the middle, and we didn’t go wide with the ball. We just couldn’t get in an attack rhythm in the first half. South Carolina is good defensively. We did fairly well in the back. We didn’t create enough and put pressure on them and they kept pressuring us. South Carolina is a good counter attacking team. We weren’t able to keep the ball up high and they had more depth. We need to improve in keeping the ball in the attacking one-third. Give South Carolina a lot of credit. They are a veteran team. We have a long way to go. This is the first game of the season and we will improve.”

Clemson will play host to Georgia State on Monday, September 1, in the Tigers’ next action. It will be Clemson’s first home match of the 2008 season. It will begin a three-match home stand as Clemson will play host to Georgia Southern on September 5, and Radford on September 7.

South Carolina – Sam Arthur (Blake Rettschneider) 27:06, South Carolina – Blake Brettschneider (Sam Arthur) 81:56

Shots: Clemson 3, South Carolina 9Corner Kicks: Clemson 9, South Carolina 5Saves: Joseph Bendik (CU) 3, Jimmy Maurer (SC) 3Fouls: Clemson 19, South Carolina 22Attendance: 6,102