Men’s Soccer Drops 4-2 Result at South Carolina

Monday, August 31

Columbia, SC

7 p.m.

Georgia Southern University

0-2

South Carolina

2-0

Ga. Southern

South Carolina

Alfonso Ochoa

8/31/2015 9:48:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

MacMurray and Ochoa score for the Blue and White

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Georgia Southern held an early lead and later leveled the game at 2-2, but fell 4-2 to South Carolina on Monday night. Chris MacMurray and Alfonso Ochoa each scored goals for the Eagles, but goals for South Carolina in the 62nd and 85th minutes were the difference.

MATCH FACTS
South Carolina (2-0-0) – 4
Georgia Southern (0-2-0) - 2

SCORING
4' – GS – Chris MacMurray gets on the end of an Eric Dinka corner kick to stake the Eagles to a 1-0 lead. MacMurray got his head on the ball for his first career goal on just his third shot.
19' – SC – Koty Millard struck an equalizer off a long cross by Ben Davidson to tie the game at 1-1.
23' – SC – Danny Deakin scored with a chip shot from the far right wing at the top of the 18-yard box.
50' – GS – Alfonso Ochoa cleans up a cross which was misplayed by the Gamecock goalkeeper for his first collegiate goal.
62' – SC – Jeffrey Torda hit a spectacular scissor kick goal from 15 yards to put the Gamecocks back up 3-2.
85' – SC – Kevin Walker put the game on ice with a 60-yard run, followed by a right-footed shot that went just beyond the reach of goalkeeper Jack Falle.

NOTES
- Chris MacMurray was given the last-minute start after Chase Park was a game-time scratch from the starting XI. He made the most of the start by scoring his first collegiate goal.
- With the early goal, Georgia Southern claimed its first lead of the young 2015 season, holding an advantage for the better part of 15 minutes.
- Monday's game was a homecoming for Georgia Southern assistant coach Geoff Del Forn who played three seasons for South Carolina under Head Coach Mark Berson.
- The contest was the first game between the programs since the 1997 season when the Eagles and Gamecocks played to a 3-3 draw.
- Georgia Southern has conceded a goal in the 85th minute in each of its two matches this season.

WHAT COACH KEVIN KENNEDY SAID
"We scored an early goal and we thought we could be successful on set pieces after seeing some film on them. We got an early goal which was great then we missed a chance at a second one. At the end of the day we have to have a greater commitment to defending. We put outselves in a position to get back in the game with the goal to make it 2-2 and we had could have taken the lead when (Christian) Duncan hit the crossbar. Overall, we've got to be tougher defensively. It was a lot like the Stetson game where we were locked into getting a goal and we've got to have a commitment to defending. To win games we've got to have that first and the game-winning goals will come."

NEXT UP
The Eagles get 48 hours of recovery before hosting Presbyterian College on Wednesday night at Eagle Field. Following that match, Georgia Southern will have nine days off before traveling to South Florida on September 11th.

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