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Gamecock Sports Schedule ■ Women’s soccer at Furman, Wed., 2 p.m. ■ Men’s soccer vs. Citadel in Charleston, Fri., 3 p.m. ■ Swimming at SEC East Tournament, Fri., All Day ■ Football vs. Tennessee, Sat., 1 p.m. Page 10 UPtf CBaiUCCOCk Monday, October 23, 2000 use stays atop SEC East standings Pinnock, Watson combine for 263 total rushing yards, carry Gamecocks to 30-14 win over last-place Vanderbilt by Chris Foy The Gamecock In a game where their rushing game flourished, the South Carolina Gamecocks assured themselves their first ever winning season in the Southeastern Conference by beating the Vanderbilt Commodores 30-14. ‘This is a big win for us,” quarterback Phil Petty said. “It’s not easy to play here at Vanderbilt, and we’re very happy to get the win.” The win not only knocked South Carolina (7-1, 5-1 SEC) up to a No. 17 rating in the AP poll, but it also main tained USC’s lead in the SEC East as they remain a’half game ahead of No. 8 Florida. Although Derek Watson has been the star running back for South Carolina this season, Andrew Pinnock stole the show Saturday as he rushed for 135 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Watson also had a good day, despite suffering flu like symptoms. He rushed for 128 yards, including a break away 35-yard run for a touchdown. This was the first time since 1996 that USC has had two players rush for over 100 yards in one game. Although they lost, Vanderbilt (2-6, 0-6 SEC) played a strong offensive game and put up 362 yards against a Carolina defense ranked ninth in the nation in points al lowed. On the Commodores first drive, quarterback Greg Zol man connected with Dan Strieker on a 35-yard pass to put Vanderbilt up 7-0. It would be the only time the Com modores led the game. South Carolina responded on its first drive of the game by moving down the field on 10 plays for 65 yards, cap ping it off with a 5-yard touchdown run by Pinnock. After a field goal earlier in the second quarter put them up 10-7, the Gamecocks had one final chance to score be fore the half: On third and 10 from Vanderbilt’s 15, the Carolina to make it fourth and 10. As the Gamecocks lined up to kick a field goal, the play turned out to be a fake as holder Kevin Sides threw a 10-yard pass to Rod Trafford to set up a first-and-goal situation on the 5-yard line. On the following play, Pinnock ran the ball in for the score to give the Gamecocks a 17-7 halftimb lead. On the opening possesion of the third quarter, the Game cocks extended their lead to 17 after Derek Watson broke loose for a 35-yard touchdown run up the right side. On the Gamecocks’ next possesion, Jimmy Williams got an interception off of Phil Petty that led to Vanderbilt’s last score of the afternoon. Ray Perkins’ 9-yard touchdown run pulled the Commodores within 10 points of South Car olina, 24-14. However, despite Vanderbilt’s offensive resurgence, turnovers ended up leading to their final downfall. With three turnovers in the final 10 minutes of the game, the Commodores stopped themselves from having any chance of winning the game. The Gamecocks put the game away in the final three minutes of the game. Carolina lined up to punt the ball away on a fourth-and-five play from the Vanderbilt 34, but it faked the punt and Rashad Faison ran the ball in 30 yards for the score. The extra point attempt was blocked by Van derbilt, making the score 30-14. Carolina’s strong showing offensively was balanced with great defensive play as well. Free safety Deandre Ei land, who made his first career start for the Gamecocks on Saturday, had 10 tackles and one interception. , The Gamecocks will return home to Williams-Brice Sta dium next Saturday to take on Tennessee in hopes of beat ing the Volunteers for the first time in eight years and hold on to their half-game lead over Florida. The sports desk can be reached at gamecocksports@hotmail.com. Sean Rayford The Gamecock Gamecock defensive lineman Cecil Caldwell (top) congratulates fellow lineman Langston Moore after Moore sacked Arkansas quarterback Robby Hampton Men’s soccer ends winning streak in tournament with loss to Bucknell by Kyle Almond The Gamecock The South Carolina men’s soccer team failed to win its eighth straight Gamecock Soccer Clas sic this weekend, as it dropped an overtime game Saturday night to Bucknell, 2-1. USC responded with a 3-2 overtime win against Lehigh on Sunday, but its loss to Bucknell pre vented them from earning top honors in the tournament. That went to the College of Charleston, which went 2-0 on the weekend with a 1-0 win over Lehigh and a 6-0 thrashing of Bucknell. On Saturday, the No. 8 Gamecocks (9-2-3) lost their first game since Labor Day, when they lost to UNC-Charlotte. Bucknell’s Bill Epley scored the golden goal in the 94th minute to put away USC in sudden death overtime. Epley headed in the goal off a high bounce from six yards out, passing the out stretched fingers of Gamecock goalkeeper Hen ry Ring. USC had held a 1-0 advantage for most of reg ulation, but Bucknell’s Nick Taylor tied the game with less than 20 minutes remaining. Taylor was later named the tournament’s Offensive Most Valu able Player. “We came out flat, and we got beat,” said a somber Carolina head coach Mark Berson after the loss. “We built up the ball nicely from the back, but we didn’t execute in the final third of the field.” The Gamecocks came out firing against Lehigh on Sunday. Midfielder David Testo scored a quick onnl 110 into ihp name off an assist from Dave Moore. Berson had moved Testo back in the forma tion for the Lehigh game, but rather than restricting the sophomore’s offensive influence, the adjust ment actually helped open the offense up for the Gamecocks. USC outshot Lehigh 23-8. “We generated a lot of attack by going around the flanks and by having [Testo] be in a position to serve balls and open the game up,” Berson said. Lehigh tied the game up, however, less than two minutes later off an unassisted goal from Doug Cusick. Cusick added another goal in the sixth minute of play to give the Mountain Hawks a 2 1 lead. USC didn’t equalize the score until 74:06 in to the match, when sophomore Chris Herron scored his first goal of his Gamecock career off of a cor ner kick. Freshman forward Ryan Daley scored the game-winning goal at 100:03 in overtime off an assist from fellow freshman Jordan Smith. It was Daley’s seventh goal of the season. Midfielder Tony Vitagliano (right) dribbles the ball upfield during Saturday’s game against Bucknell. Vitagliano and the No. 8 Gamecocks were upset by the Bison 2-1. Ryan Daley up tront was good in both games, Berson said. “He’s a freshman, and he just keeps getting better. I’m proud of his performance.” Daley and sophomore defender Tim Glowien ka were Gamecocks named to the All-Tournament team. Up to this season, USC had won seven straight Gamecock Soccer Classics. The last time it failed to win it was in 1992, when Brown took top hon ors. Last season, the Gamecocks defeated South Florida and Mercer to win the title. This year’s winner, the College of Charleston, improved their record to 9-6-2 with its pair of wins. Junior goalkeeper Wes Martino, who record ed two shutouts, was named Defensive Most Valu able Player of the tournament. Bucknell, who finished second in the tourna ment, moved to 8-7-1 on the season and Lehigh, who finished last, dropped to 8-5-2. Despite not winning tne classic, person was able to find positives in his team’s performance against Lehigh. “For them to come back from that loss and rise to the occasion today was a very good accom plishment,” he said. “I told them (after the Buck nell game) that we couldn’t take things for grant ed and we needed t o come out with renewed intensity and enthusiasm, and we did that.” “It’s important to rebound, important to win,” Berson added. “We can’t have two games at home and lose them both at this point in the season.” USC goes on the road this weekend to take on The Citadel and Charleston Southern in the Town of Mt. Pleasant Invitational. The sports desk out he reached at gamecocksports@hotmail.com. Women’s soccer team defeats Alabama 3-1 for first conference win ■ Gamecocks win one, lose one over weekend at The Graveyard by Casey White The Gamecock The South Carolina women’s soc cer team buried their first SEC victim at “The Graveyard” Sunday night. The Gamecocks (4-13, 1-7) de feated Alabama 3-1 and ended their winless streak in the conference. The win against Alabama (5-13, 1-7) came as a much-deserved reward after a tough overtime loss to Auburn on Friday. Despite the team’s loss to Aubum, USC head coach Sue Kelly was pleased with the weekend overall, as the Gamecocks have continued to improve despite injuries and the inexperience of some players. “When I look at the weekend, I absolutely tip my hat to the players that have hurdled so many obstacles and who come out to play two games like they did this week,” Kel ly said. “It’s very gratifying to coach a group of young women who have that heart and have that desire.” Alabama 1, South Carolina 3 (Sunday) The Gamecocks entered “The Graveyard” on Sunday to play the Crimson Tide with hopes of bringing in a win for the home crowd. The crowd was not disappointed. South Carolina scored three straight unopposed goals in the first half, starting at the 21:12 mark on a goal by Morgan McIntyre, assisted by Melissa Hutson. The shot came from four yards out to give the Gamecocks an early lead. The next goal came on a shot from 3 the top of the box by Becca Epstein. Fellow freshman Lauren Graf was credited with the assist at the 39:52 mark. Epstein continues to lead the team statistically, scoring six goals this ; season. i Almost immediately after Epstein’s goal, the Gamecocks delivered the knockout punch at the 40:21 mark. Epstein found an open Amy Caddies, who scored in the top right corner of 1 the net to put Carolina up 3-0. The goal was Caddies’ second of the sea- ; son and topped off her outstanding i game, as she led the team with three shots on goal. The Crimson Tide entered half time scoreless but managed to post its only goal of the game at the 74:36 mark when Melissa McGee scored unassisted to end the shutout. The Gamecocks defeated Alaba ma both on the scoreboard and in the final statistics. They did not allow a corner kick and stopped almost all of Alabama’s shots on goal, with Jes sica Freas posting three saves for the night. The Gamecock defense was run ning full speed as well, limiting the Alabama offense to five shots to South Carolina’s 16. Kelly was pleased with the win, but kept things in perspective. “I don’t put it in terms of SEC wins after this season,” Kelly said. “Tonight, I don’t think it was an issue of luck. We just played well, we were com mitted to the game plan, we execut ed extremely well, and we got our win.” Auburn 3, South Carolina 2 (Friday) Earlier in the weekend, the Game cocks dropped their seventh straight SEC matchup in an overtime loss to the Auburn Tigers (11-6, 2-5). It was the first game on familiar territory for the women’s soccer team after four straight games on the road. The Tigers struck first at the 19:47 Soccer see page n ■i