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by WILL FOLKS
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Hours after being installed as the No. 1 team in America – for the first time in program history – the University of South Carolina men’s soccer team laid an egg.
South Carolina – the erstwhile final remaining undefeated team in the land – was defeated at home by the College of Charleston in a stunning upset on Tuesday evening (September 22, 2026). Junior midfielder Stian Bendvold – a native of Begby, Norway – scored the tiebreaker in the 85th minute of play for the Cougars, who were outshot 20 to 5 by the top-ranked Gamecocks.
Bendvold had both of the Cougars’ goals as they beat the top-ranked team in the nation for the first time in program history.
The 2-1 loss dropped South Carolina to 7-1-0 on the season – and guaranteed the Gamecocks would be making the briefest of stays at No. 1.
The shocking defeat invoked the legend of the so-called ‘Chicken Curse,’ a mythical malediction believed by many to have actively hamstrung South Carolina athletics for generations. Coined by the late Doug Nye, longtime sports editor for The (Columbia, S.C.) State, the curse is frequently referenced whenever Gamecock programs find new and novel ways to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Like men’s soccer did this week…
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“It makes fans think they are on the brink of greatness, and then it slams them in the gut,” Nye once said of the mysterious hex.
The most infamous example of the curse occurred on November 17, 1984, when unranked Navy defeated No. 2 South Carolina in football. Earlier that day, top-ranked Nebraska had fallen to Oklahoma – meaning the Gamecocks were poised to become the top-ranked team in the nation for the first time ever.
At least the men’s soccer team got to experience the thrill of the ranking for a few hours, right?
Many believe the curse was lifted in 2010 and 2011 when South Carolina won back-to-back national championships in baseball. Fans also point to the sustained success of the women’s basketball team, which claimed national titles in 2017, 2022 and 2024. But a lingering lack of competitiveness in football – plus the sustained downward trajectory of the men’s basketball program – has kept the conversation about the curse alive and well.
Prior to the start of the 1992 football season, a group of Gamecock fans enlisted the services of New Orleans native and self-proclaimed witch doctor Archibald Thibeaux for help exorcizing the bad omens – but in far too many instances, results have been decidedly unsatisfactory.
Men’s soccer looks get get back on track this coming Sunday evening (September 27, 2026) at 7:00 p.m. EDT against James Madison. Meanwhile, embattled head football coach Shane Beamer looks to break a six-game Southeastern Conference (SEC) when his team faces No. 8 Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Saturday evening (September 26, 2026) at 7:00 p.m. EDT.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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SOUND OFF…
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