How South Carolina men’s soccer is building Gamecocks program back to prominence

Tony Annan doesn’t have to look far to see the history of the men’s soccer program at South Carolina.

The NCAA Tournament banners on the chain-link fence that runs along Heyward Street tell the story. The Gamecocks have made 22 postseason appearances but none since 2016. It’s the longest drought for a program that started in 1978 under previous coach Mark Berson.

Annan, in his third season guiding the Gamecocks, hopes to change that soon. He’s 10-17-6 overall in his two years, and the building continues each season.

“You start in the locker room with culture. When you get that right, a lot of other stuff takes care of itself,” Annan said ahead of Thursday’s 2023 season opener at Campbell. “My first priority is getting the culture right and where it’s about being a Gamecock and what it means with the great history of the program.”

What it’s going to take to get South Carolina back to that level?

“The correct players into the correct system into the correct culture,” Annan said. “When those three things align, you have a chance of seeing what you want.”

The Gamecocks hope and believe that can come this season.

South Carolina has a roster that consists of a split of American and international players. Adam Luckhurst from Santa Barbara, California. is the leading returning scorer from last season. He arrived in Columbia with Annan three years ago and he’s seen the growth within the program during that time.

“I’ve been here from the start. Just seeing the jump we’ve gone through already,” Luckhurst said. “He’s taken this program from being a mid to low team to where I think we can compete at the highest level this year.”

The Gamecocks do have experience returning with seven players who scored last season back.

Annan is particularly excited about his midfielders. Freshman Mika Habel and sophomore Ethan Dekel Daks will be pivotal to the team’s success. Daks was only able to play in six matches last season due to injury.

Habel arrived from Germany in January and already likes what he sees from the program, especially the way Annan runs practice.

“He’s taken this program to a professional level in the way we practice, the way we prepare for games and how we analyze what went good or bad in a game,” Habel said. “It’s a great culture that is going in the right direction.”

Sophomore goalkeeper Ben Alexander also returns. He started 16 matches last season and recorded 54 saves and allowed no more than one goal in 10 matches. He’s a year older and the experience he gained as a freshman will be invaluable this season.

South Carolina will compete in the ever-rugged Sun Belt Conference again this season. Kentucky, Marshall and Georgia State finished as the top three teams last season. The Gamecocks were outscored 8-1 in the three regular-season contests against those three, but the other five conference games ended with the scoring being deadlocked at 3-3 and the Gamecocks having a 1-1-3 record.

Luckhurst hopes he can help get the program back to a higher place in his final season wearing the garnet and black.

“The atmosphere, everything around South Carolina — everyone loves the school,” he said. “The vibe for South Carolina sports in general brings it so much attention. We want to make men’s soccer as exciting as the other sports on campus.”

South Carolina men’s soccer schedule

SB denotes Sun Belt Conference game

Aug. 24: at Campbell, 7 pm

Aug. 27: vs. Gardner-Webb, 7 pm

Sept. 1: at Clemson, 7 pm

Sept. 5: vs. UNCW, 7 pm

Sept. 8: vs. Queens, 7 pm

Sept. 12: vs. Winthrop, 7 pm

Sept. 15: at Kentucky (SB), 7:30 pm

Sept. 22: vs. Georgia State (SB), 7 pm

Sept. 26: vs. USC Upstate, 7 pm

Sept. 30: at James Madison (SB), 7 pm

Oct. 3: vs. Jacksonville 6 pm

Oct. 7: vs. Old Dominion (SB), 7 pm

Oct. 12: vs. West Virginia (SB) 7 pm

Oct. 18: at Georgia Southern (SB) 7 pm

Oct. 22: vs. UCF (SB) 6 pm

Oct. 27: vs. Coastal Carolina (SB), 7 pm

Oct. 31 at Marshall (SB), 7:15 pm