Just over a week before NCAA tournament selections, both top-2 DI men’s soccer teams stumbled in conference tournament play on Sunday night. No. 1 UCF was knocked off by South Carolina in the Sun Belt quarterfinals, while No. 2 Notre Dame lost to Louisville in the ACC semifinals.
Here’s how both upsets went down.
⚽️ MORE COLLEGE SOCCER ⚽️
South Carolina 2, No. 1 UCF 1
South Carolina lit the Capstone after downing the No. 1 team in the country for the first time in program history.
Before the Gamecocks’ 2-1 win, only four of UCF’s 14 previous opponents have scored first this season. And only one of them had come out victorious against the Knights — Marshall, ranked No. 1 at the time.
Enter South Carolina, with a sub-.500 record and labeled a No. 7 seed in the conference tournament.
The Gamecocks struck early with a Harrison Myring goal in the sixth minute. Myring sprinted free of two UCF defenders and booted the ball just ahead of the six-yard box for South Carolina’s first score and his first goal all season.
𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗞𝗘.
Junior forward Harrison Myring beats the keeper on the near side for the @GamecockMSoccer tally in the 6th minute. ☀️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/GVDvqWiHcw
— Sun Belt (@SunBelt) November 6, 2023
If Myring came up big, Jack Burgess’ heading skills came up even bigger. In the 23rd minute, Kasper Lehm sent a pass to Jordan Illian on the left side of the box, who crossed the ball to meet Burgess’ head. With one bounce, the ball rolled into the cage as what proved to be the game winner.
24′ | And @jackburge8 adds to the Gamecock lead!!! Kasper Lehm with his second assist of the night and give a second assist to @JordanIllian1.
🐔 2 | 0 ⚔️
📱💻 https://t.co/yzVmmrp9rq#WEareCarolina pic.twitter.com/AfQ2pRuJul
— Gamecock Men’s Soccer (@GamecockMSoccer) November 6, 2023
The Knights pounded back in the second half, scoring one, but ultimately fell 2-1.
Previously perfect when recording more shots on goal than its opponents, UCF dropped the match after out-shooting the Gamecocks 28-11 and getting three more SOG (8) than South Carolina (5). Goaltender Ben Alexander recorded six saves on the night.
South Carolina had previously posted a 0-4-1 record against No. 1 ranked teams all time. Sunday’s win was its first top-5 road victory since 2012.
The Knights were the unanimous No. 1 team in the Week 10 United Soccer Coaches’ Poll going into Sunday’s match, but have now lost…
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