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THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, November 5, 2003 J_3 TA S~\ T^| m pN ' GAME SCHEDULE CONTACT US I-JI 1 I—^ I VOLLEYBALL at Kentucky, 7 p.m. ■ II A I l FOOTBALL at Arkansas, 7:45 p.m. Thursday Story ideas? Questions? Comments? I \ / I I Ik/ WOMEN’S SOCCER at SEC Tournament in E-mailusatgamecocksports@hotmail.com _ I V_' I, I FV-/ Orange Beach, Ala., 12:30 p.m. Thursday ■ . — - . ' '■ ■ .' . • 1 • ' *■' ' • • \ USC to get no rest before Arkansas USC at Arkansas 7:45 p.m. Thursday Little Rock, Ark. TV: ESPN BY JOEL WALLACE THK (iAMKCOCK The USC football team (5-4,2-4) faces a shortened practice week leading up to Thursday night’s showdown against Arkansas (5-3,2-3). The quick turnaround might be just what the doctor ordered, as the Gamecocks need to put last Saturday’s hard-fought loss to Ole Miss behind them. “With this game, all of a sudden we lost a day of preparation and had to squeeze everything togeth er,” offensive coordinator Skip Holtz said. The early game this week might also be to the Gamecocks’ advan tage, as Arkansas is coming off a grueling 71-63 victory over Kentucky in which Arkansas tied its own NCAA record for the longest game in history by play ing in seven overtimes. Arkansas defeated Ole Miss 58-56 in Oxford in seven overtimes in 2001. “In a way, I’m glad we have a short week because I think our guys play better” that way, Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt said. “This is the quickest turnaround I can remember.” Thursday’s game will be held in Little Rock, Ark., where Arkansas is 15-0 dating back to a loss to Tennessee in 1997. The Razorbacks head into the contest losing three of their last four after starting the season 4-0. Running back Cedric Cobbs leads a potent offensive attack, averaging 110.6 rushing yards per game. The Razorbacks’ rushing attack is complemented by quar terback Matt Jones, who aver ages 55.2 rushing yards per game in addition being an effective passer, throwing for 1,294 yards and 10 touchdowns against five interceptions. “Cedric Cobbs is averaging six yards per carry and is one of the best backs in the country,” USC head coach Lou Holtz said. “You put him with that offensive line and a quarterback like Jones and they give you all sorts of problems. When you look at all that, you un derstand why they are No. 1 in the conference in rushing and in total offense.” For the Razorback defense, ju nior defensive tackle Arrion Dixon was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week this week for his performance against 'Kentucky. The Gamecocks must respect the Arkansas defense, as it is fifth \ in the conference in total defense and recorded a shutout against USC last year in Columbia. “The closest we got to scoring was a field goal that we missed,” Holtz said about last year’s 23-0 loss. “They do a variety of differ ent things on defense and are very athletic and talented. Their two corners are candidates to run as sprinters in the Olympics and are the two fastest comers in the coun try. They cover you well.” . Despite the loss to Ole Miss, the Gamecocks’ offense has given them something to crow about af ter last week’s performance. Quarterback Dondrial Pinkins threw for a career-high 298 yards in addition to four touchdowns and no interceptions. “Dondrial Pinkins has emerged as a quarterback,” Holtz said. “He has been through a lot of criticism and unjustly so, but he has really stepped up.” Nutt also gave Pinkins credit for the job he has done. “We can’t let this quarterback stay comfortable,” Nutt said. “When he sets his feet, he has two great receivers he can go to. It will be a great challenge.” The Gamecocks now have only three games left to pick up one more win to become bowl-eligible. However, the road doesn’t get any easier with a nasty orange streak against Florida and rival Clemson. The Arkansas contest marks USC’s second Thursday night na tional appearance on ESPN this year. The game is scheduled to kick off at 7:45 p.m. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com PHOTO BY ANDREW LOGAN/THE MISSISSIPPI Daccus Turman, right, fights off Ole Miss defenders. Turman had one of the most incredible scores against the Rebels. He’ll look to do the same at Arkansas on Thursday. PHOTO BY TRISHA SHADWELL/THE GAMECOCK Lawson Vaughn, left, scored a goal In Tuesday’s game. BY STEPHEN DEMEDIS TJIK (JAMKCOCK The USC men’s soccer team (8-6-2) came from behind to tie College of Charleston (10-3-3) on Tuesday night on a goal in the 86th minute by sophomore Lawson Vaughn. The goal was the first of his career, and the tie keeps the Gamecocks in con tention for an NCAA bid. The first half of play ended in a scoreless tie. However, the Cougars out-played and out-shot the Gamecocks. Charleston could have easily taken the lead within the first 10 minutes, but they failed to convert on two open net shots. “We really did not play well the first half, and we were fortu nate to get out of there in a tie,” Berson said. “I give this team a lot of credit, coming back the way they did.” USC took the lead six minutes after the half when freshman de fender Makin Hislop drilled a shot from 30 yards out into the back of the net. The slim lead held due to a strong defensive effort for 20 minutes. But in a two-minute span, Charleston tied and took the lead in the 68th and 70th minutes. The first goal came on a cor ner kick. The ball landed in the box, and the Cougars leading goal scorer Richardo Diaz Grando ended a scuffle in the box by scoring the tying goal. For the Gamecocks, memories of the Davidson game, which was tied in similar fashion, came to mind. Charleston’s go ahead goal was scored by sophomore Keion Yearwood on a magnificent header in the box. The forward dived into the box and headed a pass from midfielder Sage Martin into the net. With the clock winding, down, the Gamecocks contin ued to apply pressure and fi nally answered with Vaughn’s goal. “We knew that we could not afford to lose this game and we just kept pouring it on. Fortunately, Josh (Alcala) just found me in the box and I was able to keep my composure and score,” Vaughn said. For the third consecutive game, the Gamecocks went into double overtime. Neither team was able to score, but each team had its chances. Carolina’s best opportunity came on a 3-1 break away with one minute remain ing in the second period. Senior Captain Jack Cummings sailed a wide-open shot over the cross bar, and the score remained tied at two. It was just one of many open shots missed by both teams in 110 minutes of soccer. Despite the blown chance, Berson walked away from the game very pleased with his ♦ SOCCER, SEEPAGE 14 Let anarchy rule for USC football TYLER JONES GAMECOCKSPORTS@HOTMAIL.COM Moral victories aren’t helping the program. Where were you on Saturday morning at 11:45 a.m.? Were you in Oxford, Miss.? Were you snug gled soundly in the spooning em brace of a strange lover? Were you hovered over a bowl of cereal with your bookie on the cell and a high lighter skimming the morning paper? Me, you ask? I was digging in at a bar in Charleston, surround ed by an army of Ole Miss sup porters led by a gum-bumping, lip flapping gambler by the name of Cash Malloy. You see, I am a man who chooses his friends wisely; such is not the case with sports teams. I ran into Cash at the Rockville Regatta this summer, and the con versation turned to how interest ing it would be to place a wager on the Ole Miss-USC game that was months down the road. “Sure,” I thought, “we will beat Eli Manning into mud.” Of course, Cash, being one of the most confident Ole Miss alums in the Milky Way galaxy, agreed, and the August sun continued to beat down on our intoxicated bod ies. Everything looked great when the season got under way. Ole Miss struggled to a 1-2 record, and the Gamecocks had beaten a then 15th-ranked Virginia ball club to go 2-0. I thought to myself, “What fun it will be to take the bread money from a professional golf hustler and part-time gambler?” And so the season progressed: Eli Manning got hot, Ole Miss killed Florida, and we fell into our usual second-half-of-the-season slide. Which brings me to the second half of the game on Saturday. I was genuinely surprised at the heart of the football team, espe cially the poise of No. £. There were freshmen making play s and a sophomore named Moe who proved to me that he is, without any doubt in my mind, the best football player on the team. So there I was, with a half-drunk Ole Miss alum who is as vociferous as they come, leaving me with an empty pocket and only a moral victory in hand. “You know, Tyler, if the BCS counted moral victories, South Carolina would be Sugar Bowl bound,” quipped my victorious comrade named Cash. And then it hit me, like the sev enth beer before 3 p.m., I was tired of losing, of racking up moral vic tories and preparing for the next season. I want to have a team of overconfident, wrecking ball thugs who go into games with a murder mentality. I want Ray ♦ JONES, SEEPAGE 13 Women’s soccer ready for too-seeded Tenneessee USC at Tennessee 12:30 p.m. Thursday SEC Tournament Orange Beach, Ala. BY WES WOLFE THE UAMECOCK The No. 8 seed USC women’s soccer team (10-7-3, 3-4-2 SEC) takes a flying leap into the post season On Thursday when it takes on No. 1 seed Tennessee (13-4-1,7-1 1) in the SEC Women's Soccer Tournament. “We’re happy to be taking on a team that’s done so well,” USC head coach Shelley Smith said. The Gamecocks shouldn’t de spair, however. In last season’s tournament at Ole Miss, No. 8 LSU upset No. 1 Auburn in the first round before losing to No. 4 Florida in the second round. Also, Carolina beat Kentucky in USC’s final home game, when at the time, USC was in last place in the SEC East, and Kentucky was in first place. Smith said that the Carolina win was indicative of conference play all season. “That’s how the conference has been all year,” Smith said. “If things go as they’ve gone during the season, there should be some upsets.” Tennessee comes into the first round of the tournament buoyed by winning the SEC East and the SEC Regular Season Championship, while sustaining a seven-game unbeaten streak. Tennessee is also the defending tournament champion after beat ing Florida in two overtimes last season. Tennessee will be bolstered in the opening round by Lady Volunteer forward Rhian Wilkinson, who earned SEC Player of the Week honors by help ing Tennessee claim the confer ence championship by beating Georgia. Wilkinson scored the game’s only goal and is currently leading the Lady Vols in points and assists. Carolina lost a close match in Knoxville, Tenn., against the Lady Vols on Oct. 12 by 3-2 and will cer tainly be seeking revenge. “We have to step up and show we want to continue the season,” Smith said. If not for Wilkinson’s goal, No. 2 seed Auburn would’ve taken the conference crown. The Tigers (13-2-3, 6-1-2 SEC), who take on No. 7 seed Georgia (11-8,4-5 SEC) in first round action, have also been on a seven-game tear by winning six games and tying once on their way to the SEC West title. Auburn also has the other SEC Player of the Week, defender Erin Hinson. The senior from Birmingham, Ala., scored the game-winning goal in Auburn’s fi nal regular season game against Alabama and helped hold Auburn’s opponents to six goals this season. No. 3 seed Florida (14-3-1, 6-2-1 SEC) comes into the tournament after a win over USC and winning two of its past three games. The Gators were 3-3 on the road this season but have yet to play on neu tral turf, so Florida will be tested in Orange Beach against No. 6 seed Vanderbilt. No. 4 seed Ole Miss (13-4-2,4-3-2 SEC) plays No. 5 seed Kentucky (6-8-4, 4-3-2 SEC) in the other match-up on Thursday. When the Wildcats played USC, they were sitting pretty on the top of the SEC East. However, Kentucky has gone 0-3-2 in its past five games. Ole Miss hasn’t done that well in its past five games with a 1-2-2 record, but the Rebels have a respectable 3-2 record on the road and one win on a neutral field. The tournament, to be held in Orange Beach, Ala., seeds only eight teams. This means that four other SEC schools did not make it. Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi State and LSU, all from the SEC West, did not have a high enough conference winning percentage to make the cut. Georgia, USC and Vanderbilt Barely made it in with the lowest winning percentage go ing into the tournament, tied at .444. The winner of the tourna ment automatically qualifies for a berth in the NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament, which fin ishes with the College Cup in Cary, N.C. USC will start tournament play against Tennessee at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday. Comments on this story?E-mail garnecocksports@hotmai?mcom