No. 24 Gamecocks Open Sun Belt Tourney Against UCF

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — South Carolina’s 24th-ranked men’s soccer team opens Sun Belt Tournament play Sunday night against third-seeded UCF, a 7 p.m. kickoff at Hoops Family Field with a spot in the semifinals at stake.

The Gamecocks are the No. 6 seed after a 10-5-2 regular season and a 3-4-2 league mark. UCF arrives at 9-4-3 overall and 5-3-1 in conference play, good for 16 league points. Marshall is hosting the first two rounds, and Sunday’s winner meets the survivor of Marshall and Kentucky on Nov. 11 at 7 p.m., still in Huntington.

South Carolina leads the all-time series 9-5-4, yet the Knights have won the past three meetings, most recently 3-2 in Orlando on Oct. 25. That result was UCF’s first victory this season over a ranked opponent. The sides are meeting for the 19th time and for the second time in this tournament; South Carolina knocked off top-ranked UCF during the 2023 conference tournament in Florida, winning 2-1.

South Carolina is back in the conference field after missing the 2025 postseason and is 1-3 in Sun Belt tournament games, with that lone win coming against UCF three years ago. The Gamecocks have lost three straight heading into Sunday, dropping a 2-1 decision at home to then-No. 21 Marshall on Oct. 30 and another 2-1 match at Coastal Carolina on Nov. 3 after the Orlando defeat.

UCF is the defending tournament champion and is trying to become the first league team since Coastal Carolina in 2019 and 2020 to repeat. A win Sunday would set up a possible rematch of last year’s title game at the same complex. The Knights are 3-2 all-time in Sun Belt tournament play after going 3-0 a year ago.

South Carolina shares the No. 24 spot in the latest United Soccer Coaches rankings and climbed to No. 12 in the NCAA RPI that came out Thursday. Defender Mika Habel, the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, led South Carolina with 10 assists. Alejandro Velazquez-Lopez paced the attack with seven goals and 17 points, and goalkeeper Noah Scheidweiler has 44 saves. UCF is led by Sun Belt Player of the Year Drew Hansen, who topped the conference with 12 goals and 27 points.

Filed under: Beaufort SC Sports News