COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Sweet Sixteen proved to be just that for the No. 10 seed Michigan men's soccer team on Sunday, as the Wolverines defeated seventh-seeded host South Carolina, 3-1.

With the win, Michigan moves on to the Elite Eight to face No. 2 seed Maryland next weekend in College Park, Md.

“Hats off to Carolina,” Michigan coach Steve Burns said after the game. “They were a really tough team, as we knew they would be.”

The first half saw several legitimate threats by both sides, though the Wolverines (16-4-3) led on the stat sheet. An 11-7 shots advantage for Michigan contributed to an overwhelming feeling at Stone Stadium that a breakthrough was imminent.

Before the eventual goal however — a toe poke from senior forward Justin Meram that found the lower right corner of the net — it seemed that the Wolverines would once again fall victim to superb goalkeeping from a feisty opponent. In the tournament's second round, Central Florida forced overtime with Michigan, mostly due to brilliant saves on the part of the Knights.

However, Meram's goal silenced the garnet-clad faithful. Senior Gamecock goalie Jimmy Maurer was no longer the brick wall that the Wolverines had been firing at in the first half.

It took a while for Michigan's attack to adjust to Maurer's goalkeeping style, which differed significantly from that of last week's opponent. Burns attributed Maurer's success to his "bigger range" compared to the Central Florida goaltender.

Shortly after the Wolverines gained the 1-0 advantage, South Carolina (13-7-2) received a crippling blow when a challenge from senior Will Traynor led to a red card. Gamecock coach Mark Berson wasn't happy about the call.

“(The ref) saw it,” Berson said. “I didn't see it. But he saw it.”

South Carolina never fully recovered from playing a man down.

As the remaining minutes dwindled, the Wolverines added two more goals. Freshman Soony Saad, held to a rare scoreless game against Central Florida, found his way back to the box score when he beat Maurer in the 71st minute.

Not satisfied with the advantage, given the back-and-forth first half, Meram put the game out of reach and, in turn, put the Wolverines through to the Elite Eight with a set piece goal.

Despite an impressive performance by Michigan redshirt junior goalie Chris Blais, the Gamecocks were not to be shut out at Stone Stadium, affectionately dubbed “The Graveyard” because of its proximity to a local cemetery.

The lone South Carolina goal came with six minutes remaining in the contest — far too little time for a serious comeback threat.

Maryland defeated No. 15 seed Penn State 2-1 on Sunday to advance to a home matchup with the Wolverines.