Mark Berson, USC’s only men’s soccer coach in program history, set to retire
Mark Berson, one of the longest-tenured coaches in all of collegiate soccer and the founder of South Carolina’s men’s soccer program, will retire after coaching one final season in the fall of 2020, the university announced Thursday.
“Coach Berson founded our soccer program, and his teams have excelled on the field, in the classroom, and in the community throughout the years,” athletics director Ray Tanner said in a statement. “The 2020 season will be a great opportunity to recognize his contributions to the University of South Carolina and our community.”
Berson has led the Gamecocks for 42 seasons, earning 22 NCAA tournaments berths. In those appearances, South Carolina had made it to four quarterfinals and two College Cups, including a national runner-up finish in 1993. The team’s last NCAA berth was in 2016.
“I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to coaching our team next fall. I feel great,” Berson said in a statement. “I am fortunate to have one of the finest staffs in the country and we have signed two of our best recruiting classes ever in the last two years. We have a great nucleus returning on this team and we have already hit the ground running this week to get ready for next year.”
This past year, the Gamecocks finished 7-9-2, with all of the their wins and ties coming at home at Stone Stadium.
As the only coach in program history, Berson has accumulated more than 500 wins at USC, and combined with one season at The Citadel, he has a career record of 514-249-75. He is the winningest active head coach in Division I and one of only four Div. I coaches to ever reach 500 wins. He is 30 wins shy of the NCAA record.
Because the SEC does not sponsor men’s soccer as a varsity sport, Berson and South Carolina have competed in Conference USA since 2005, claiming a conference title in 2011.
Among the notable alumni Berson coached are Clint Mathis, who had his jersey retired this past season after an accomplished international career, Josh Wolff, head coach of the MLS’s Austin FC, Brad Guzan, a goalkeeper for the U.S. national team, and Jim Sonefeld of “Hootie & the Blowfish.” All told, Berson has coached 13 All-Americans and 15 Freshman All-Americans.
This story was originally published January 16, 2020 at 4:53 PM.
