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% Q GAME SCHEDULE • „ WOMEN’S SOCCER vs. Georgia State, 7 p.m. Tonight Friday, August 27, 2004 WOMEN’S SOOCCER at James Madison, 12:30 p.m. Sunday J = = ■ = -■:■■■■■ == -■ ■ ,t ■ , .=- 1 ’ .... -■ ... ! -- -- ■ = ■ . ■ .= g THIS ISSUE: SECONDARY M •: #’ » • ~* COUNTDOWN TO KICK 'Bennett, Morris lead DBs .iJMfcr, SHSlL_■ KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCI Senior Taqiy Muhammad goes through a drill in preseason practice. The Gamecock secondary should be an important factor against .quarterback Jay Cutler and the Commodores in the season opener. By STEPHEN DEMEDIS THE GAMECOCK With the quarterbacks playing sue a big role in USC’s opener again Vanderbilt — Dondrial Pinkins looking to solidify a starting role an the Commodores’ Jay Cutler is preseason second-team All-SE selection — the men they will thro at will be a major factor. On wh; should end up being two defensivi minded teams, the secondaries will 1 a big part of each team’s success < failure. The Gamecock coaching staff hi been excited about the depth amor defensive backs. Defensh coordinator Rick Minter has worke to rotate various players in practice i an effort to fill starting positions ft next Saturday. Sophomore Fred Bennett an junior Tremaine Tyler are pencile in as starters at the cornerbac position, although defensive bad coach Ron Cooper will probabl shuttle a number of players throug Tyler’s spot. Both have had soli camps, and Tyler will pro vie heeded experience to a your secondary. Junior college transfi Jonathan Joseph is a solid covi cornerback who has shown li ability to make big plays. Josep was initially slated as a starter an will likely get significant playiti time against a potent Vanderbi passing attack. Senior Taqi Muhammad will play after bein converted from wide receiver t cornerback, and the coaching sta has had good things to say aboi him at the position. Two freshmen highlight a safei position that is deep enough for an of the four players at the position t start. Freshmen Ko Simpson an Chris Hampton have come in an shown the ability to make a immediate impact. Senioi Jermaine Harris and Jamaci Jackson create a balance betwee youth and experieno . • Welcome to The Gamecock’s Countdown to Kickoff special. In every issue of The Gamecock from now until h the Sept. 4 opener at Vanderbilt, we will bring you an in ;t depth breakdown of a different position on both teams. is Our schedule will be as follows: d Monday: Receivers a Tuesday: Linebackers ^ 2 Sept. 1: Offensive line v Sept. 2: Defensive line it Sept. 3: Special teams p r GAMECOCK GRADE: B + is The depth and playmaking ability g of this unit warrants a high grade, e Unproven newcomers keep it from d being any higher, n In contrast to the Gamecock r secondary, the Commodore secondary is rather thin. Behind the d starters, Vanderbilt will have to rely d on players with limited experience k and some who are returning after :s injuries last year. y Starters at cornerback will likely h be juniors Bill Alford and d Dominique Morris. Alford started e six games for the Commodores last g season after transferring from r Middle Georgia College. Slightly r undersized at 5 feet 9 inches and e 185 pounds, Alford’s effectiveness h was limited by a knee injury midway d through last season, g Morris was Vanderbilt’s most It consistent player in the secondary last y season, starting in every game but g one. He led the team last year with o three interceptions. At 6-feet tall and :f 195 pounds, Morris is a physical it corner. Backing up Morris and Alford will y be senior Lorenzo Parker and junior y Cheron Thompson. The question o surrounding Parker is where he will d play after showing promise as a wide d receiver in the spring. Parker turned n in a solid year at cornerback last s season, including 50 unassisted a tackles. n Thompson was limited much of :. last season with a knee strain but was still able to play 11 games. The '£• Atlanta, Ga., native started against USC and recorded a career-high eight tackles. Two returning starters solidify the safety position for Vanderbilt. Juniors Andrew Pace and Kelechi Ohanaja started every game for the • Commodores at safety last season. The 6-foot-1-inch, 210-pound Pace had 85 tackles, two interceptions and two forced fumbles. He is expected to be much improved this season. The athletic ability of Ohanaja has made him a standout. He led the secondary in nearly every statistical • category but interceptions last season. Ohanaja recorded 10 tackles against USC. - j Not only is there uncertainty surrounding the cornerback reserves but also at the reserve safety position. Junior Ronnie Swoopes contributed mainly to special teams last season while seeing limited time at safety. Swoopes recorded only 11 tackles. Sophomore Ben Koger was also used significantly on special teams as a freshman last season while serving as a second-team safety. GAMECOCK GRADE: C Vanderbilt starters are solid, but injuries and limited experience among the reserves leave the Commodores’ secondary rather average. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@girm.sc.edu u| . J Women’s team looks to declaw Lady Panthers ■ Gamecocks begin tough road schedule By BRIAN SAAL THE GAMECOCK Pi The Gamecock women’s soccer team will begin its 2004 campaign tonight against the Georgia State Lady Panthers. The Gamecocks are ready to bounce back fr.om a 10-8-3 record in 2003. They will need to rely on a few of their 13 incoming freshman to step up early in order to repeat their double-digit win season. The season begins with a tough opponent in the Panthers, projected to finish third in the competitive Atlantic Sun Conference. The Panthers finished 16-6 last season, losing in the conference semifinal. The Gamecocks will look to stop ^ the dominating attack force of the P 'anthers. Last season, forward Lauren Chave7. led the team with a total of 26 pr ints. Also returning for the Panthers is their second leading scorer, midfielder Amber Collins-Cephers, who totaled up 19 points last season. The Gamecocks will be using their home field advantage under the lights of Stone Stadium — affectionately known to USC fans as “The Graveyard.” Last season, they finished with a 6-2-1 record at home, their best in the past four yeark Shelley Smith will be entering her fourth season as head coach of the Gamecocks. During her tenure, the Gamecocks have compiled a record of 31-21-8 and made two consecutive appearances in thg SEC Tournament. The Gamecocks will host 11 home games at Stone Stadium this season. The 11 games tie the record for most home matches in a season by the Gamecock women soccer team. The schedule features eight opponents that reached the 2003 NCAA Tournament. “The schedule is very competitive,” Smith said. “A good strength of schedule is important, and we have continued to increase the level of competition. Our players expect to be challenged and to play top teams across the nation.” Coming back to this year’s squad will be leading point scorer MA Foster, who scored four goals and had four assists last season. The biggest question mark for the Gamecocks will be the starting goalkeeper position after losing last year’s starter Elise Matthews. Of the 13 new faces at camp this season, two are goalkeepers. The battle between Monica Sanchez of Tampa, Fla., and Laura Armstrong of Greenwood might last the entire season. Sanchez earned first team Western Conference and second team all-conference honors last year. Armstrong was named to the All-Region team and was team MVP ♦ Pltese see WOMEN, page 10 1 use SOCCER i SARAH ZILINSKY/THE GAMECOCK A USC forward tries unsuccessfully to head in a goal Thursday night. Despite a hard-fought game, both offenses failed to score a goal. Last year’s exhibition in Charlottesville, Va., also ended in a 0-0 tie. The Cavaliers are ranked eighth this preseason. Exhibition ends in stalemate By STEPHEN DEMEDIS THE GAMECOCK Taking on the eighth-ranked, reigning ACC champion Virginia Cavaliers in the first official game of the season would intimidate most young teams. Such was not the case for the USC men’s soccer team Thursday night as it opened its season in an exhibition game at the Graveyard, playing Virginia to a scoreless tie. Though disappointed that they did not win their first match, Carolina was pleased with its play on the evening. “We just came out ready to play today and definitely showed it.wl mean, with intensity, we matched theirs and even put more into it. We were all over them. We were unfortunate to not get a better result, but I think we definitely deserved to win and that is just how it goes,” goalkeeper Brad Guzan said.” The highlight of the night for the Gamecocks was their defense, which held the Cavaliers to nine shots. Guzan was once again a leader for the team, but only had to make three saves thanks to the play of defenders Greg Reese, Makan Hislop, Ryan Leeton and Ramon Paracat in front of him. The defense not only held Virginia’s top scorer, Adam Christman, scoreless, but limited the striker to just one shot on goal. “In the offseason, we worked very hard at closing down space and trying to turn the ball over,” head coach Mark Berson said. 1 was very pleased that we were able to do those things with some effectiveness against a very good Virginia team.” While the defense looked much improved, it was the offense that held the team back. Despite out shooting UVA 17-9, the front line seemed to be plagued by the same inability to finish as it was last year. “We were very pleased with our play during the entire game from the standpoint that we created a lot of good opportunities,” Berson said of the team’s offensive play. ' “Anytime you outshoot a team like Virginia, nearly two to one, you have to feel like you are creating some good chances.” The first 45 minutes of play passed without either team making much of a statement. Both sides mounted several strikes and possession was fairly even. In the last minute of play, USC moved down the field on a counterattack but lost control just as the ball was crossed into the bo;;. The attack set the tone for second half. Carolina came out fired up after k ♦ Please see SOCCER, page 10