Coastal shuts out South Carolina 2-0

Coastal Carolina men’s soccer got back to their winning ways last Saturday night, taking down in-state rival South Carolina 2-0 at Stone Stadium in Columbia.

Right from the start, it seemed as if Coastal Carolina had the game in the bag. The Chanticleers offensive attack paid off early, getting on the board in the 12th-minute.

Coastal sophomore midfielder Konstantinos Louvaris scored from nearly 20 yards out. After some great passing in the midfield, Louvaris received the ball from senior forward Frantzdy Pierrot, turned and rocketed the shot into the top corner.

It was Louvaris’ first goal of the season.

After the goal, things looked as if the momentum was going to swing USC’s way when Pierrot went down with cramps and had to be subbed off in the 16th-minute. Pierrot would later return to the game in the second half.

Even without Pierrot, the attacking presence of the Chanticleers paid off again when freshman defender, Garrett Lillie, crossed in the ball from the right and a Carolina defender, in an attempt to clear, headed the ball into the net.

The own goal gave the Chanticleers a 2-0 over USC just 21 minutes in.

Coastal almost added a third, just nearly three minutes later, when senior defender Miguel Gutierrez hit the crossbar off of a free kick.

Another bright moment for the men’s soccer team was when senior forward Louis Dargent came into the game in the 35th-minute. Dargent hasn’t played all season due to an injury.

Going into the half, the Chanticleers had a lot to be happy about, but there was still a lot of soccer to be played.

Senior goalkeeper Braulio Linares-Ortiz came up with three massive saves in the first 15 minutes of the second half to keep the two-goal advantage for Coastal.

Coastal nearly put things to bed in the 70th-minute as junior defender Sam Strong’s header was saved.

USC managed two shots in the final 10 minutes of the match but could not get past Linares-Ortiz. When the final whistle blew, it was a shutout victory for the Chanticleers over a tough in-state rival.

The win puts the Chanticleers at 4-5-0 on the season.