Mark Berson previews Friday Clemson matchup
SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS SOCCER
The first point in the Palmetto Series is up for grabs Friday night in the upstate.
The Gamecocks' men's soccer team takes on Clemson at 6 p.m. on the road to open their regular season with a relatively young team made up of nine freshmen.
Before South Carolina takes on the Tigers Friday night at 7 p.m., Mark Berson previewed the matchup with GamecockCentral and talked finishing 1-1-1 in the preseason, expectations this year and finding an identity.
What are the impressions of your team heading into the regular season?
Berson: “We’re excited. It’s particularly exciting this year; we have a very, very young team. in the couple scrimmages we had, at times there were two players out there that had played on the field for South Carolina before. We have a nice blend of youth and experience. It’s been a very, very steep learning curve in preseason with our guys and I think they’ve done a really good job.”
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What do you expect their reactions will be to the environment in Clemson?
Berson: “I think they’ll enjoy it. I think this is one of the reasons they come to South Carolina, to participate in (this). This is why they come here, to play in big games. Certainly it’ll be a little bit of a baptism by fire, but that’s OK. We have to learn. They played in front of quite a large crowd here in our preseason scrimmage. They know what a big crowd’s like, but they’ll be on the other side of it Friday night, but that’s OK. That’s one of the exciting things at the University of South Carolina, the opportunity to play in big matches. I think our guys will be ready for that.”
What did you learn about your team in the three exhibitions?
Berson: “They’re very, very talented. They’re really exciting, but they’re real young though. We haven’t had enough time—we’ve had 13 practices—so we haven’t had enough time to really work through a lot of the subtleties we have to get down. There are big gaps in where we need to be as a team right now just because we haven’t had enough time. We’ll have to keep working through that as we go through the season. What I have learned is their effort is good, their attitude is good, their toughness is good and we need to now put that on stage and see where we can go with that.”
Who are the leaders right now?
Berson: “It’s a little leadership by committee. Our senior class has done a great job. They’ve helped our guys in preseason to know what expectations are and have done a good job of keeping everyone on track. We’ve had two matches on the road this preseason so this group has learned how to travel. They know how we operate. That’s an important step for them. I think the leadership will be there, I don’t think there’s any question.”
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What are the strengths and weaknesses of your team entering the year?
Berson: “I think resiliency. We went to Duke and were down two goals and came back and scored two. We came here in our preseason scrimmage, let a goal in and came back to score seven. There’s a little bit of resiliency there and there’s a bit of a learning curve. We’re making mistakes and have to compensate, come back and deal with that. That’s one of the strengths of this group. I think we’ll be a much different team in September and October than we are right now.”
Has this team found its identity yet?
Berson: “That’s a good question. I think we’re beginning to put together an identity. I think it’s an attacking group. I think it’s a group that wants to go forward. We need to make sure we’re consistent. We scored nine goals in the first two scrimmage; then we went to Wilmington and didn’t score. Exactly where are we? I don’t know. We’re somewhere in the middle of all that. We’ve shown the ability to put points up and we’ve done fairly well defensively but we need to improve on the defense cohesion.”
What do you tell your freshmen about playing in this rivalry?
Berson: “I played at North Carolina, I played in the ACC and there isn’t a rivalry in the ACC that equals the South Carolina-Clemson rivalry. It’s a wonderful experience and a great opportunity. There’s maybe two or three rivalries in the nation that capture that spirit. It’s something our guys come here to be a part of. It’s a special thing.”