Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

Women’s soccer gets fresh start with new coach Smith a IY CHRIS FOY HE GAMECOCK The 2001 USC women’s soccer earn is a squad ready to put its iast season right where it belongs - in the past. 1 It won’t take too much to im prove from last season, where the Samecocks posted a meager 4-16 Word. Carolina’s poor season led o the resignation of head coach Sue Kelly, who posted a 55-57-5 ■ecord during her stint at USC. '. Enter new head coach Shelley Smith. Smith, a pickup from the Jniversity of Rhode Island, is op timistic about her new team’s abil ity to compete this season and ooks forward to the year ahead. “We have a good core group and will challenge teams in the SEC,” Smith said. She took Rhode Island from a 2-16 record her first y#ar to a 12-6 record the following season. Smith was named the 2000 NSCAA Northeast Region Coach of the Year, and the New England Women’s Soccer Intercollegiate Soccer Association (NEWISA) named her its Division I Coach of the Year in 2000. She was also the 1998 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year. But despite her positive out look, Smith will be-faced with i turning around a program that 'ranked last in the conference in al most every offensive category and won only one conference game. The team’s shot percentage was a meager .111 last year, and it aver aged only 1.1 goals per game. Through the course of the season, the Gamecocks scored 22 goals, while they gave up 62. However, Smith does have reason to believe she will be able to make good things happen soon. Returning for Carolina will be midfielder/forward Becca Epstein, who last year as a freshman led the team with 15 points off six goals and three assists. In addi tion, Greenville native Morgan McIntyre will be returning for her senior year at forward to provide veteran leadership to the squad. Last year, McIntyre posted five goals for 10 points. Unfortunately, McIntyre will miss the first cou ple weeks of the season due to a leg injury. On defense, the team will get defensive specialist Melinda Carter back on the field. Carter managed to play only three games last year after she fractured her fibula and dislocated her tibia in her right leg in a collision against a Clemson defender. Carter earned All-South Region honors as a defender in her first two years at Carolina. The Gamecocks also have ju nior Becky Leeper. Leeper, who spent the summer playing in a na tional league in New Jersey, feels the team is about to make a big de fensive turnaround. “I think defensively we’re go ing to take a big step,” Leeper said. “We’re going to be a lot more or ganized and have a sense of what we’re doing. We’re going to reduce the number of shots on the goal.” Smith also feels defense is a key in turning this program around. Women’s Soccer VITAL STATISTICS Head Coach: Shelley Smith Stadium: “The Graveyard", Eugene E..Stone ||| Stadium 2000 Record: 4-16 2000 Finish: Failed to qualify -for SEC Tournament Starters returning: 7 of 11 Top returners: D Melinda Carter, F Becca Epstein, F Morgan McIntyre All eyes on: MF Becky Leeper, who helped her club team in New Jersey win the U-23 national title over the summer “We’ve focused a lot on de fense,” she said. “We’ve taken a lot of time to organize us defensively. Offense comes from good defense.” Team co-captain Lydia Bi enias will be returning as well and will likely see playing time as a midfielder. Bienias is seventh on USG’s all-time career scoring list. In net will be Elise Matthews. Last season, Matthews posted 65 saves with a .637 save percentage. Her record as a starter was 2-5 in 2000. The team opens its season on Sunday at USC-Spartanburg. Smith can hardly wait to begin her era at USC. “My goal is to be a top con tender in the SEC in the next few years, and I believe we have the support and ability to do that,” she said. “We are all looking forward to the season.” If you're interested in writing for Gamecock Sports, call 7-7726 Melinda Carter is healthy again for the women’s soccer team and ready to lead an improving defense. Carter was out for the season last year after she broke her leg against Clemson. file photo Baseball Heartbreaking loss ends another strong year for USC CONTINUED FROM PAGE B5 “I was trying to do all I could to help my team win today,” a dejected Bouknight said after the game. “Unfortunately, I gave up a nm, and it ended up being the winning run. Our guys gave a very solid effort.” This solid effort was evident throughout the season, despite the Stanford loss. In the week prior to the Super Regionals, the Gamecocks moved through the NCAA Regionals by beating the Citadel, Princeton and Central Florida. The match up against the Citadel in the first game marked a record-setting day for Bouknight, as he tied the SEC record for wins at 45. This past season, the Gamecocks fell short of cap turing the SEC title as they did in 2000, but they did advance to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. In the first game of the tournament, the Game cocks fell to Mississippi State. After that, USC downed Auburn, Georgia, and MSU en route to play MSU again in the semifinals. The Bulldogs won that game, however, to progress to the finals and even tually win the tournament. Perhaps the brightest spot this past season was USC's performance against rival Clemson. In a se ries of four matches, the Gamecocks won three times, including a decisive 21-8 victory in the first game, played at Clemson. Whittaker led the SEC in home runs as he hit 21, and the catcher was also second in the confer ence with 74 RBIs. McBeth led the team with 58 runs scored. Drew Meyer had a team-high 81 hits. Bouknight finished the season with a 3.99 ERA and a team-high 10 wins. The season ended the college careers of eight Gamecocks. www.su. sc. edu/pecenter/crec. htm It all starts at the Blatt PE Center Building Hours: Mon-Fri 7am-ll pm Sat 10:30am-9pm Sun 10:30am-llpm a Department of Student Life/Division of Student and Alumni Services/USC Come in and Shop our 28th Annual Summer Blow out Sale! Selected items 20-40% Offi THE^ NORTH fit FACE In Trail Runners - Outerwear patagonia Baggies • Polo Shirts Stand up Shorts SPORT SANDALS Seven styles for men & women including new flip-flop colors Hiking boots for Men & Women Giamicd Shorts • T-Shirts www. backpackerqualitygear. com Travel luggage • Day Packs • Camping Equipment & More! 1215 Wayne St., in the Vista. 799-7571