HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Daniel Lang scored in the 65th minute Sunday night, and the 24th-ranked South Carolina men’s soccer team from Columbia held on to beat UCF 2-1 in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament quarterfinals in Huntington.
The sixth-seeded Gamecocks, now 11-5-2 on the season, knocked off the third-seeded Knights, who fell to 9-5-3. The result puts South Carolina in the tournament semifinals for the first time since 2023.
Angel Lopez opened the scoring in the 29th minute. After Mika Habel found him in the box, Lopez had his first shot stopped by the UCF goalkeeper, then put the rebound away for his sixth goal of the season.
UCF pulled even in the 41st minute when Kenn Muendo finished a 12-yard chance after the Knights picked off a South Carolina pass near midfield, and it stayed 1-1 at the half.
The winner came off a sequence started by Alejandro Velazquez-Lopez, whose pass through the middle reached Lopez, who touched it on to a streaking Lang. Lang slipped past two defenders before scoring. South Carolina did not allow another shot on target the rest of the night. UCF outshot South Carolina 10-7 overall, but the Gamecocks put three shots on frame to two for the Knights and won the corner count 7-3.
South Carolina meets second-seeded host Marshall in Huntington on Wednesday, November 11, at 7 p.m. Eastern. The championship match is set for Sunday, November 15.
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