Justin Meram crowd surfed in the student section, his jersey removed and arms thrust triumphantly skyward.

It was a simple and spontaneous celebration after the Michigan men’s soccer team’s overtime victory against Central Florida last week, but those outstretched arms - in that joyous moment - represented so much more.

“They’re raising the bar,” Michigan coach Steve Burns said of his team. “You’re always trying to get better and stay better and, really, that’s the significance of what these guys are doing now.

“This is a team that really believes that we can be a Final Four team.”

The No. 19 Wolverines (15-4-3) have an opportunity today to advance as far as any team in the 11-year history of the program when they travel to Columbia, S.C. to face No. 18 South Carolina in the round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament at 2 p.m.,

Michigan hasn’t reached the quarterfinal round since its first-ever postseason appearance in 2003.

That 2003 team set the bar for Michigan soccer, Burns says. The 2010 squad is trying to push it forward.

In some ways, it already has. With that 2-1 overtime win over Central Florida last Sunday, Michigan surpassed the 2003 team’s previous win record of 14.

Trailing UCF 1-0 at halftime, Meram spoke to his team about giving the overflow crowd at the UM Soccer Complex a deserving send off.

“I said at half, with 3,000 people or whatever it was there to see us, there’s no way we’re going to lose for them and there’s no way, with our offensive power, we’re going to stay not on the scoreboard,” Meram said.

While Meram and Big Ten Freshman of the Year Soony Saad, who is second in the nation with a school-record 18 goals, get the headlines, the Wolverines' defensive stinginess has been every bit as important in its postseason run.

In the four postseason games, including the Big Ten Tournament, Michigan has given up just three goals and has not surrendered more than one in a contest.

“We knew coming in we don’t get the press and glory, but that’s the role we sort of take,” said senior defender Jeff Quijano, named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week for his efforts against UCF. “We’re willing to do the dirty work and our offense has definitely shined.

“It’s a little bit of a good thing because teams focus so much on how to stop Soony, Justin and the rest of our offense and don’t know how good our defense is.”

For the Wolverines to succeed against the Gamecocks, Burns believes his defense will have to be adaptable.

“One thing that will challenge us is they’re a team a team that makes good adjustments during the game,” Burns said. “They have three good forwards, like we do, and they seem to be good at changing how they play within the game.”

Though appreciative of the pomp and circumstance that surrounded hosting an NCAA Tournament game, Burns and the players are happy to get on the road, and take on the underdog role.

“Being in front of the home crowd was great, don’t get me wrong, but playing at home has distractions,” Burns said. “You’ve got guys worried about ticket allotment, out on the Diag trying to drum up support for the game, and we were introduced at halftime of the Wisconsin football game.

“That stuff is all great, but it takes energy. Sometimes we like getting on the road, creating that 'us against the world' mentality.”

“(Being on the road) gets us out of our comfort zone, and we have to step up and makes us focus,” Meram said. “And, personally, I love when the other fans get into it and are all against us.”

Two more wins and the Wolverines will need to take the road mentality to Santa Barbara, Calif., the site of this year’s Final Four. That would mean a return home for Quijano, a Canoga Park, Calif., native.

“Honestly, I don’t understand how anybody leaves (California) … or why I left,” Quijano jokes. “With all my friends and family back there, and I’ve been to Santa Barbara Stadium, it’s real nice. To play there would be a dream come true.”

Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at petercunningham@annarbor.com or by phone at 734-623-2561. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.