USC tops Davidson BY KYLE ALMOND THE GAMECOCK - For the second straight sea son, Joey Worthen was the pri mary target of taunting, heckling and all-out harassment from Davidson’s soccer fans. For the second straight sea son, it was Worthen who had the last laugh. The senior forward from Salt Lake City scored what proved to be the game-winning goal Wednesday night in the Game cocks’ 4-1 victory over the Wild cats. Worthen had the game-win ning goal last season against Davidson as well. A crowd of 1,329 showed up at the Graveyard for Wednesday’s matchup, but they weren’t all rooting for USC. The visiting team had plenty of fans at the game, and many who were still bitter at Worthen after last sea son tried their best to get in the forward’s head. “Every year, we play these guys and it’s the same people out there, giving me the same stuff,” Worthen said of Davidson’s fans. “It’s good to get a win like this against them, and anything I can do to quiet them is good. I like it. It’s extra motivation.” Worthen’s goal in the 59th minute silenced the Davidson fans temporarily. Nearly 10 min utes later, he silenced them for good. With Davidson pushing for ward and looking for an equaliz er, Worthen countered down the left wing, sprinting with the ball towards the box. A Wildcat de fender slowed him down, but Worthen turned and took a shot on goal, hitting the crossbar. Jor dan Quinn was there to capital ize, heading the rebound past a beaten Davidson goalkeeper. Joey Worthen stifled Davidson again, photo bytravis lynn Quinn’s goal gave the No. 17 Gamecocks (5-1) a comfortable two-goal cushion, and Davidson (5-2) couldn’t recover. Senior defender Ryan Stock ing added another goal for USC in the 82nd minute, capping a four-goal outburst in the second half. “[Davidson] is a team that doesn’t give up goals easily,” said USC head coach Mark Berson. “For us, this is a real solid ac complishment.” For the third time this season, the Gamecocks had to come from behind. Davidson’s Jon Tetirick opened the scoring in the 28th minute off a pass from Chris Nor bet. Despite out-shooting their opponents, the Gamecocks went into the locker room at halftime down 1-0. It didn’t take long for Caroli na to tie the score after the break. Sophomore midfielder Ryan Da ley scored at the 53:44 mark, beat ing Davidson keeper Soren John son one-on-one after a run down the right side. Five minutes later, Worthen put USC ahead for good with help from Daley and Jack Cummings. “It was a good cross by Jack, and then Daley was running across the middle of the box,” Worthen said. “He kind of just laid it back and set it right up there for me, about six yards out. All I had to do was put it on goal.” The goal was Worthen’s fourth of the season. Three of those have been game-winners. Berson said he was pleased with the way his team respond ed to an early deficit. “It just showed a lot of char acter on our team’s part to hang in there and come back and an swer,” Berson said, “I was real proud of them. I thought they showed the characteristics of a very good team in coming back.” USC will look for its fifth straight win Sunday when it takes plays host to the College of Charleston. Carolina has domi nated the Cougars over the years, winning 14 of their 17 meetings and only losing once. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start, after the women’s game against Florida. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com. Women open SEC play BY BONNIE BERKES THE GAMECOCK The South Carolina women's soccer team (5-0-2) rolls into its SEC opener with an undefeated record this season after only man aging four wins last season. Conference play opens for USC at noon Sunday in Gainesville, Fla., against SEC three-time champion Florida. The Lady Gators (3-2-1) lead the Lady Gamecocks in the all-time series 8-0. The Lady Gamecocks broke the team's record for the longest undefeated streak at Wof ford on Sunday by going their first seven games without a loss. “We expect hard work and in tensity from each player as well as the team,” said USC head coach Shelley Smith. “We play each of our opponents equally, no matter their team status,” Smith said. Senior Abby Wambach leads Florida in goals with four. Fol lowing Wambach is senior Andi Sellers with three goals. Florida goalkeepers Jordan Kellgren and Regan Wiesemann have allowed seven goals and have saved 21. Kellgren has been responsible for two shutouts this season. „ Freshman USC midfielder Ash ley Gosnell leads the team in goals and points as she has put in five goals this season for A total of ten points. Following behind Gosnell's record is sophomore Becca Ep stein with three goals and eight points. Junior Melinda Carter and senior Lydia Bienias have both contributed seven points on the season. The Gamecocks have outshot their opponents 151-26 this season. Sophomore Melissa Hutson has led the Gamecocks in attempted shots this season with 20. Follow ing Hutson is junior Melinda Carter, with 19, and freshman Ashley William, with 17. Co-Captains Lydia Bienias and Melinda Carter have combined for eight goad assists. The play of goalkeepers Car olyn Ortega and Elise Matthews has been one of the driving forces behind USC's five shutouts this season. Ortega has made nine saves this season, and Matthews has added 13. Carolina has a 2-0-1 record on the road this season. In addition to Wofford, the Gamecocks knocked off San Diego State in an early-season tournament. After playing Florida, the Gamecocks will play against Clemson on Oct. 7. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com. Foy USC can go 11-0, with a little luck CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 perfect record. The point is, it could happen. Will it? Only time will tell. This team is not ready to play a Miami. But they could be. And if they do happen to go undefeated, don't be surprised to see a Gamecock football team poised to take on any opponent. With a little bit of luck, and thanks to some big wins already, Pasadena may not be entirely out of the question. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com. Gamecock Sports Challenge \ i ALABAMA AT W 15 USC 14 LSUAT7 TENNESSEE 11KSU AT 3 OKUHOMA 12 UCLA AT 19 OREGON ST. 22 ILL AT «[7 MICHIGAN 23 MSUAT16 NTWESTERN CLEMSONAT 9 GA. TECH _ __ P?,?y Reader of the week (77) (9-5) —— is; ■ nji * M AN HISTORIC RESIDENCE Efficiciency $485 One Bedroom $545 Two Bedroom $580 Rents include all utilities and cable TV. All rates quoted are month to month. (Leases available, prices subject to change) Located across from the University Of South Carolina Horseshoe and the State Capitol, Cornell Arms offers the premier location for downtown living. (803) 799-1442 1230 PENDLETON STREET COLUMBIA, SC 29201 Football USC-Alabama will be tight game CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 sive end John Stamper and ju nior Langston Moore. Defensive coordinator Charlie Strong has not been afraid to make use of the team's depth, so expect Jonathan Alston, Jason Caper and highly touted junior college transfer Shaun Smith to make appear ances. Contrary to what was ex pected of the defensive line by many, Carolina has stopped the run very well. ADVANTAGE: USC Passing: Watts, who beat out senior Andrew Zow for the start ing job, has completed 56 percent of his passes for 465 yards and 2 touchdowns. This year, as op posed to others, is absent of a quarterback controversy be tween the two. Last year, the con troversy was part of the problem, creating turmoil on the team. The rest of the Tide seem to have rallied around Watts, since they know who the quarterback will be this year. USC s pass defense this season has been as good as advertised. Comerback Andre Goodman is coming off an excellent game against Mississippi State. His performance earned him SEC de fensive player of the week hon ors with one interception, 4 tack les and 4 pass break-ups. Good man wasn't even the most high ly touted comerback on the team coming into the season. That dis tinction would belong to senior All-American comerback Shel don Brown, who, along with the rest of the secondary, has done a great job. Senior safety Antoine Nesmith will be back from injury this week. ADVANTAGE: USC Special Teams Kicking/Punting: The Game cocks special teams unit, though not extremely strong, is greatly improved. Sophomore kicker Daniel . Weaver made three huge field goals last week to help seal the victory over Mississippi State and improved to an unusual (for the Gamecocks) 5-5 for the sea son. ■ Tyeler Dean has been excel lent punting the ball. Dean has averaged nearly 40 yards per punt and has shown the ability to punt the ball with a lot of height. Alabama's special teams unit is solid with kicker Neal Thomas. Thomas has a league-leading six field goals and has one of the strongest legs in the nation. ' ADVANTAGE: EVEN Returning: Brewer and Alexander will handle kickoff re turn duties, but neither has shown the ability to break a long one this year. Derek Watson hasn't returned a kickoff since his 66-yarder to open up the Georgia game. Holtz has said Watson will not be re turning kicks for the rest of the season in order to have energy for offensive possessions. Brewer will return punts, with the basic duty to catch and not fumble. Receivers Freddie Milons and Antonio Carter provide a lethal combination deep on kickoffs for Alabama. Milons also provides a big threat returning punts. ADVANTAGE: ALABAMA Outlook The Gamecocks should win against Alabama, but might have trouble scoring much more than their team average of 20 points. Both teams will play well on de- , fense, but look for USC's defen sive backfield to come away with a few turnovers to seal the victo ry. FINAL SCORE: USC 23, Alabama 14 11 \\ 1/ WZ*^ \fy^ / I I \ \ //yo« are rtWy for a RFAI. Tailgate Party, then come on by! 11 / V ~-—*\ tlie 3rd Great Gamecock ^ rmuiivKiii September 29 (USC vs. ALABAMA) 10 am -12 noon W \ featuring music by the: WIL SEABROOK BAND Mil Seawell's Parking Lot >1125 Rosewood Drive 1 yj across the street from "the ROCKET" at the State Fairgrounds. // The best part is that it is all FREE: Music, Lots of Great Food, Drinks & Door Prizes. I // Souvenirs for the first 250 USC students in attendance at each Tailgate Party. / L^^f] General Parking is available at Seawell's for $10 per vehicle.