With the countdown to football season well under way, the minutes until soccer kickoff dwindles as well. South Carolina returns many of its key cogs but also bring in four recruits expected to contribute. A lot of exciting news is happening in Gamecock soccer this summer. Go On the Pitch in the first edition of Soccer Insider.
A pair of USC commitments are in action this week in Denver, Co. at the adidas ESP (Elite Soccer Player) camp. One hundred of the top players from around the country are invited to a showcase tournament that coincides with the MLS Youth Cup, which is being held at Dick Sporting Goods Field, home of the Colorado Rapids.
Attacking midfielder Chipper Root and defender Trevor Hubbard were invited to the event for the second year in a row. Hubbard took home Defender of the Year honors last season for his performance and the Texas native could duplicate that honor with another strong week this year.
Root, however, was unable to make the trip this summer. Why? He has a National Championship to play for.
Root, incoming players Kevin Stam and Alex Long, along with commitment J.P. Rafferty are in California this week for the U.S. Academy National Championship with their club team. CASL Chelsea FC will participate in an eight-team tournament at the home of U.S. Soccer.
Stam and Long are members of a four-man recruiting class with defensive midfielder Eric Martinez, who made four All-America teams this summer, and a fourth Tar Heel-state product Ryan Godwin.
Long, Martinez Parade Magazine All-Americans
Recruiting coordinator Bert Molinary has raked in some pretty big signees at South Carolina in his six years on campus but he had not pulled in a Parade Magazine All-American. Now he can say he’s landed two of them.
Goalkeeper
Alex Long and central defensive midfielder
Eric Martinez recently received high school soccer’s highest honor as they prepare to begin their college career in just two short months.
“I was surprised at first but once it hit me, I’m really honored,” Long said. “I wasn’t expecting it at all. It’s definitely a confidence booster.”
Both Long and Martinez have been a fixture on Under-18 U.S. National Team rosters and while a slight injury has kept Martinez from making a few trips, Long has traveled the world.
The Green Hope High School star has traveled to Australia and Portugal this year while participating in camps from Florida to California. Now, it’s time to settle in Columbia, S.C.
“I don’t really know what to expect,” Long said. “I’m just really looking forward to stepping up the level of intensity and competition. I’m looking forward to being there with Jimmy and Ross and being a representative of the University.”
Big teams in big tournaments
The schedule for 2009 is a formidable one but the Gamecocks will take another step up in 2010 both at home and on the road. USC will travel to Bloomington, Ind. as one of four teams in the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic.
Indiana, the host team, is becoming a soccer powerhouse and enter this season ranked No. 7 in the country by College Soccer News. Also in the tournament is Notre Dame, a Big East soccer school with plenty of tradition as well. The Hoosiers and Fighting Irish made the NCAA Tournament in 2009.
On the home docket in 2010, Carolina will welcome one of the top teams to play in the adidas Gamecock Classic in the University of Connecticut. The Huskies are ranked No. 20 overall by College Soccer News entering the season.
UCONN has made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament every season since 1998 and fielded a championship squad in 2000.
Renovations at Stone
Nearly a half million dollars in renovations is underway at Stone Stadium and a drive past the field may seem as though the pitch may be unplayable by the time the 2009 kickoff rolls around. However, the project is going on as scheduled and sod will be put down this week.
A crown in the middle of the field has been removed and a state-of-the-art drainage system has been put down that will benefit both the men's and women's soccer program.
The field is expected to be finished by the end of the month and in plenty of time for the first exhibition game scheduled for August 25 against High Point.
