Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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« GAME SCHEDULE VOLLEYBALL vs. Tennessee, 7 p.m. Friday W. SOCCER at Georgia, 7 p.m. Friday M.SOCCER at Gamecock Soccer Classic, Friday-Saturday FOOTBALL vs. Vanderbilt, 7 p.m. Saturday - • Arkansas shatters hopes of 7-0 start BY CHRIS FOY THE GAMECOCK * After enjoying a top 10 ranking for the first time in 10 years, the South Carolina Gamecocks (l5-l, 4-1) dropped their first game of the season to unranked Arkansas, 10-7. The Gamecocks gained more yards than the Razorbacks offensively but were unable to put enough points up to win the game. Phil Petty had one of the worst games of his career, one he felt was by far his worst since the Gamecocks’ dismal 0-11 season. Petty was a less than stellar 11 of 30 for no touchdowns, two interceptions and 147 yards. After the game, Petty was ready to put this loss be hind him and the rest of the team. “We missed a lot of opportunities all dary, for what ever reason,” Petty said. “We just have to take a look at ourselves and get better. We have got to be more consistent.” To start the game, the Gamecocks kicked off to the Razorbacks, who were unable to produce much on their first dri ve. After going 20 yards on five plays, Arkansas punted the ball to South Carolina, which had about the same luck on its ensuing drive. The Gamecocks went three and out for -7 yards before punting the ball back to the Hogs. The Razorbacks started at their 42 and took advantage of the good field position. They proceeded to drive to the USC 10 yard line before the Gamecock defense stepped up and forced Arkansas to kick a field goal from the 4-yard line. The kick was good, and the Razorbacks took the 3 0 lead with 4:35 left in the first quarter. On the next two series, the teams av eraged three yards of total offense. After Arkansas punt ed again, the Gamecocks began at their own 45-yard line, their best field position of the game. But Petty’s first pass was intercepted by Lawrence Richardson. The interception was Petty’s first of the season. The second quarter was fruitless for both teams. Neither team was able to pull within scoring distance until the half began to wind down. Carolina started a drive on its 40 with two minutes left in the game and moved down the field 27 yards. On a fourth-and-12 with five seconds remaining in the half, the Gamecocks opt ed to go for it. Petty threw the ball into the end zone, only to find the hands of Arkansas defender Corey Harris. The Gamecocks entered the second half with a new ♦ ARKANSAS, SEE PAGE 14 “We missed a lot of opportunities all day, for whatever reason. We just have to take a look at ourselves and get better. We have got to be more consistent.” PHIL PETTY USC QUARTERBACK USC's Brian Scott tries but fails to pull in a pass in a 10-7 loss to Arkansas Saturday, photo by krt campus Auburn gives USC lifeline as SEC East race opens up KYLE ALMOND JBLAZ INI24@HOTMAIL.COM Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and USC all have a shot. Auburn’s Damon Duval did his best Regis Philbin impression Saturday, granting USC a lifeline after its letdown in Little Rock. Duval’s game-winning field goal knocked off the top-ranked Florida Gators, a team that looked practically invincible and well on its way to another SEC East title. Now, four East teams — Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and the Gamecocks — are even with one conference loss, and it’s anyone’s ball game. Carolina, considering its tough loss, has to feel good about where it stands in the division race. The Gamecocks still control their own destiny, and even with another conference loss, they could still be in the hunt. If the Gamecocks had to choose a conference game to lose, they would have wanted to lose to a team from the West. Because if there’s a three-way tie for the division at the end of the regular season, and each team has beaten one and lost to the other, division records come into play. Georgia and Tennessee are in a bad spot. Because both teams already have a loss in the East, another division slip-up means they’re through. Florida and USC are in the driver’s seat. Losing to a team from the West isn’t going to bury them if it comes down to tiebreakers. That said, the Florida/USC game at Williams-Brice has the potential to be a deciding game , in the division race. Say the Gamecocks happen to fall to Tennessee at Neyland Stadium, a tough place to win on the road. A win over Florida can save them. Of course, you’d still have to hope the Gators beat the Vols in the Swamp and the Bulldogs in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, but you’d have to think those games are Florida’s to lose. The scenario isn’t far-fetched. We would all have two losses, and the Gamecocks would hold the tiebreaker. If USC beats Tennessee but fumbles at home against the Gators, then there would have to be some upsets thrown in the mix. The division title would be tougher to pull off because Florida would have to lose twice. Either way, the Gamecocks can’t hang their heads. Yeah, there probably isn’t going to be a national title in their future, but a conference championship and a BCS bowl is not out of the question. They just have to make sure they beat the Gators. Of course, this is all assuming we give Vanderbilt a good beatdown this weekend. USC has to stay focused. If this past weekend has taught us anything, ♦ ALMOND, SEE PAGE 14 Women’s soccer gets long-awaited SEC victory Lady Gamecock Ashley Gosnell battles for the ball with an SC State defender earlier this year. The women’s soccer team won its first SEC game Friday, file photo by travis lynn BY CHRIS FOY THE GAMECOCK The University of South Carolina women’s soccer team (6 4-3,1-3-1 SEC) finally took a victory in conference play this weekend as they won a match and tied an other on their road trip to the far west of the SEC. The conference win ties their total number of wins in the conference last season. use 2, ARKANSAS 0 At least USC beat the Razorbacks in something this weekend. The Lady Gamecocks broke a four-game losing streak Friday night by beating Arkansas 2-0 in Little Rock. Junior forward Kristen Schreiber led the South Carolina offensive attack as she knocked in two goals en route to USC’s first SEC win of the year. “We had a great team effort tonight, and this was a very big game for us, and we were able to bounce back from last week,” USC head coach Shelley Smith said. “Our players didn’t hang their heads down, and we picked it up, and I’m proud of our team.” Early in the first half, sopho more Erica Bowie took a shot on goal that was blocked by Lady Back goalkeeper Lindsay Haywood. But Schreiber got in her first goal off the rebound to put the Gamecocks up 1-0. Bowie picked up the assist on the play. Schreiber notched in her sec ond goal 60 minutes into the game off a cross pass from sophomore forward Becca Epstein. After the game, Smith was im pressed with Schreiber’s play. “Kristen really stepped it up for us at forward,” Smit^, said. “That second goal was a diving header, and she made a great play in the box. Kristen was putting out the effort in practice, and it showed on the field today.” USC goalkeeper Elise Matthews played the entire game and picked up her second shutout of the sea son. USC 4, LOUISIANA STATE 4 The Gamecocks traveled to LSU on Sunday afternoon in hopes of getting their second straight con ference win. Instead, they settled for a tie. Four different Lady Gamecocks scored goals as the USC women’s soccer team tied LSU 4-4 on Sunday afternoon in Baton Rouge. “The first half was very strange, and the game kept going back and forth,” Smith said. “Both teams made mistakes defensively. In the second half, we had a lot of chances to go ahead with the lead.” The Lady Gamecocks came close to putting the game away in the second overtime. Midfielder Jessica Julin hit the crossbar off of a corner kick. “We were right there several times, and we just couldn’t get the bounce,” Smith said. “Our team did a good job of getting scoring chances. We were a little unlucky, and I thought we could have scored on a couple of occasions.” USC led off the scoring at the 8:55 mark whfen sophomore Meredith McPartland scored an unassisted goal from 15 yards out. The Lady Tigers wasted no time in responding, as Stacie McDougall put in a header off the goal to tie the game at 1-1. ♦ VICTORY, SEE PAGE 14