Oct. 13, 2006

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall men's soccer team battles No. 11 South Carolina at 7 p.m. Saturday in Conference USA play at Sam Hood Field. With their No. 11 national ranking, the Gamecocks will be the highest-ranked team to ever visit Huntington. Akron, with a No. 16 ranking on Oct. 8, 2004, was the previous highest-ranked squad to come to Sam Hood Field. Admission to the match is free.

Marshall and South Carolina played a hard-fought game in 2005 in the programs' first-ever meeting, with the Thundering Herd taking a 1-0 win in Columbia, S.C., to hand the Gamecocks their lone conference loss of the season. Osric Flores (So., Everett, Wash.) scored the Marshall goal just 53 seconds into the match on an assist from Karim Boukhemis (Sr., Huntington, W.Va.), and the Herd held on for the win behind eight saves from goalkeeper Greg Terhune (Sr., Indianapolis, Ind.). USC went on to win the conference tournament title en route to an NCAA tournament bid.

Marshall (3-7-1, 0-3 C-USA) dropped a 3-1 home contest Wednesday to Florida International. FIU jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first half after the game was delayed by nearly two hours because of thunderstorms. Kolby LaCrone (So., Zanesville, Ohio) got the Herd on the scoreboard with a goal in the second half, but the Herd was unable to capitalize on several other opportunities to get back into the match.

South Carolina (10-2, 3-1), an affiliate member of Conference USA for men's soccer, has not played since a 1-0 win over FIU last Saturday in Columbia. Mike Sambursky leads the Gamecocks in goals (5), assists (8) and points (18). USC also boasts the reigning Conference USA defensive player of the week in goalkeeper Mike Gustavson, who has six shutouts and a 0.90 goals against average this season.

The match also features two of the winningest active coaches in the country. South Carolina's Mark Berson has 401 career victories, while Marshall head coach Bob Gray has 370 wins. Berson and Gray rank fifth and sixth, respectively, in career wins among active NCAA Division I head coaches.

Marshall wraps up its 2006 home schedule at 7 p.m. Wednesday against No. 18 Kentucky at Sam Hood Field.