MATCH #14
WHO: ODU (5-6-2, 1-4-1 Sun Belt) vs. South Carolina (8-3-2, 3-3-0 Sun Belt)
WHEN: Oct. 27 – 6 p.m.
WHERE: Norfolk, Va.
SERIES RECORD: ODU leads 10-6-2
LAST MEETING: Oct. 7, 2023 – South Carolina 2, ODU 1 – in Columbia, S.C.
STREAM: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: here
NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion men’s soccer team hits the home pitch of the ODU Soccer Stadium for the first time in three weeks on Sunday night as they entertain South Carolina in a 6 p.m. kick.
This game will have live stats and be streamed on ESPN+.
In a game that saw the teams trade goals throughout, the Old Dominion men’s soccer team got the final one and the game-winning one on Wednesday night. Evan Watt scored off a corner kick feed from Andrew Bennett in the 72nd minute as ODU snapped a five-match winless streak with a 3-2 victory over Coastal Carolina in a key Sun Belt Conference matchup.
William Arnesen and Marcelo Randolf joined Watt in goals scored on Wednesday. Bennett had two assists, while Watt added one and Michael Eberle had one as well.
South Carolina enters after a 3-1 win on Wednesday over James Madison. William Nilsson had a goal and an assist, while Ethan Ballek and Jonah Bigger had goals for the Gamecocks.
ABOUT ODU
Through 13 matches, Michael Eberle and Key White share the lead in points with eight. Eberle shares the lead in goals scored (3) with Arnesen, while White had the lead in assists for the Monarchs with four. Arnesen has seven points with three goals and an assist, with Timothy Ennin having two goals and two assists for six points next in line.
White is tied for fifth in the league in assists with four and in assists per game (0.31).
In the net, Michael Statham has four clean sheets, a save percentage of .762 and a goals against average of 1.15 through 13 starts. He is second in saves per game (3.69), tied for third in shutouts (4) and fourth in save percentage (.780) in the Sun Belt.
The four goals in the win at George Washington were the most in a season opener since 2011 in a 6-0 win over Houston Baptist in a tournament at West Virginia.
The three goals against Coastal Carolina marked the second year in a row that ODU scored three against the Chanticleers as they took a 3-1 win in 2023 at home.
Tennant McVea takes over as head coach of the Monarchs from long-time coach Alan Dawson who retired at the end of the 2023 season. He had served on the staff for seven years, including being on the Conference USA winning staff in 2014.
Eberle was named Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week on September 17 after a pair of game-winning goals against William & Mary and previously undefeated George Mason.
ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA
The Gamecocks put the first loss of the conference slate on James Madison on Wednesday night with a 3-1 victory at home.
Ballek leads the team in scoring with eight goals and four assists for 20 points. He is second in the league in shots, third in shots on goal and third in goals scored.
Harrison Mying joins him in double figure points with seven goals and one assist for 15 points, while Alejandro Velazquez-Lopez has four goals and four assists for 12 points.
Filip Versterre has started all 13 matches in the net with a goals against average of 1.00 and a save percentage of .735. He has four clean sheets on the season.
NEXT UP
The Monarchs open November on the road at Georgia Southern on Friday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m.