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V1 ® I GAME SCHEDULE p q I WOMEN’S SOCCER vs. Clemson, tonight 7 p.m. g7 , ^ I MEN’S SOCCER at Pennsylvania, Friday 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, September 15, 2004 VOLLEYBALL vs. Southern Cal, Friday 7 p.m. SARAH ZILINSKY/THE GAMECOCK Junior defender Jackie Welch battles a defender in a game earlier this season. The women's soccer team will look to give Carolina a 2-0 advantage when it takes on Clemson tonight at the Graveyard. Women’s soccer team hopes to tame Tigers By JIM ROCHE THE GAMECOCK Many USC fans salvaged this weekend’s disappointing loss to the Georgia Bulldogs by celebrating as the Clemson Tigers lost to the unranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the final seconds of the game. Add to that USC’s victory over the Tigers in volleyball a few weeks ago, and the fire is fueled for Wednesday’s showdown in women’s soccer between South Carolina and Clemson at Stone Stadium. USC comes into the match at 4 3 on the season after losing a match Sunday to No. 4 Virginia, 5 2, at the Virginia Nike Soccer Classic in Charlottesville, Va. Senior forward Ashley Williams scored both goals in the loss. Williams, Jackie Welch and Jessi Swaim were all named to the All Tournament team from South Carolina. The Clemson Tigers are coming off their first loss of the season against the No. 13 Kansas Jayhawks, 3-1, Saturday afternoon in Clemson. Lydia Vandenbergh had Clemson’s only score when she beat Kansas goalkeeper Meghan Miller for a goal late in the first period. It was the first goal Miller has given up this season, breaking^ her scoreless streak of 544:36 minutes. After the loss, Clemson head coach Todd Bramble said, “We will have to regroup and get ready for South Carolina.” Indeed they will, as last year’s contest came down to the wire in front of a record Clemson crowd of 4,120 as Tiger freshman Kelly Schneider scored the game’s only goal to beat the Gamecocks in overtime. It was both teams’ season opener. Clemson’s Courtney Foster, a freshman from Conyers, Ga., took a shot from the left side of the field on South Carolina goalkeeper Elise Matthews. Matthews was unable to hold on to the ball as Schneider was right there to knock the ball in to the bottom right corner of the goal. Clemson outshot South Carolina 16-5. Clemson returns nine of 11 starters from 2003, including forward Courtney Foster, who had 13 goals, five assists and 31 points in 2003. Watch out for sophomore Kelly Schneider, who had two goals and one assist during Clemson’s Thursday thrashing of East Carolina, 8-0. The Gamecocks bring in an experienced senior in Williams and talented freshmen in midfielder Courtney Cobbs and goalkeeper Lindsay Thorstenson. Williams comes into Wednesday’s match-up red-hot with five goals in 11 games. Freshmen Courtney Cobbs had a goal in the Gamecocks’ double-overtime loss to James Madison, 3-2, on Aug. 29. “We are relying on the freshmen for a lot of minutes,” USC head coach Shelley Smith said. “They are stepping up every game and are playing at the level we need them to play. They are going to be tested, but early on they have showed they can play and contribute for us.” Wednesday night is “Garnet and Black” night at Stone Stadium. All attendees wearing garnet and black get in free. The action begins at 7 p.m. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu NFL k Smith’s injury forces Panthers to find starter By JENNA FRYER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Steve Smith had surgery Tuesday on his broken left leg, leaving the Carolina Panthers searching for replacements for their top receiver and punt returner. Both candidates — Keary Colbert at receiver and Chris Gamble at k returning kicks — are rookies. “Obviously, that’s a blow to lose a guy like Steve Smith,” coach John Fox said. “Obviously, he’s a big play guy for us both offensively and in the kicking game. But as is football, there’s injuries.” Smith, who signed a $27.5 million contract extension in the offseason, led the Panthers last season with career-highs in receptions (88), yards receiving (1,110) and touchdowns (7). He also averaged 28.1 yards per kickoff return. He broke his leg late in the fourth quarter of Carolina’s 24-14 Monday night loss to Green Bay when he rolled his ankle as he was being tackled after a catch. Smith made his way through the locker room on a pair of steel crutches after the game, needing I | help from a Panthers staff member to put his sock and shoe on his good foot. One by one, the rest of the Panthers made their way to his locker to check on him. “Steve Smith is very special out there for us, he’s our home run hitter,” safety Mike Minter said. “We are definitely going to miss him.” Fox said he was unsure how long Smith will be out, but broken fibulas typically take at least eight weeks to heal. So the Panthers will turn to Colbert, their second-round pick out of Southern California. Colbert was inactive against the Packers but is expected to make his first start Sunday at Kansas City. In limited preseason action, Colbert caught eight passes and averaged 34.6 yards per catch. “We feel good about Keary Colbert,” Fox said. “Steve Smith was a big-play guy and really everything Keary Colbert’s showed us, he’s a big-play guy. He’s going to get his opportunity.” Gamble returned kicks last season at Ohio State, totaling 92 yards on 20 punt returns and 115 yards on six kickoff returns. In the preseason, he returned one punt for two yards for Carolina. Carolina will also try Eugene Baker at. returning kicks in practice this week, but he likely won’t see any game action because he’s a receiver and the Panthers already have four who are active each week. So the job will probably fall to Gamble by default, at a time when the first-round pick is already adjusting to starting in the secondary. TOM COPELAND/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Carolina Panthers receiver Steve Smith, left, grabs his leg as team trainers help during the fourth quarter of the Panthers' 24-14 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Charlotte on Monday night. Europe arrives with Ryder Cup in tow By DOUG FERGUSON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — . Bernhard Langer walked off the ■ plane and cleared customs with his right fist wrapped tightly around the Ryder Cup trophy. The key is to get back on the plane at the end of the week with the 19-inch gold chalice. The 12 -man European team was together for the first time Monday afternoon, captain Langer and 11 players arriving on an Airbus 300 from London, with Luke Donald having driven up from the Chicago area where he makes his home. U.S. captain Hal Sutton and his wife formed a receiving line, and Sufton couldn’t keep hip eyes off the trophy. “What is this you have here?” Sutton said. “Just a little something,” Langer said. “We’ll fight for it the next few days.” During the flight, Langer passed the trophy among his players, posing for pictures and taking care not to scratch it. The Europeans had no reason to act as if they had never seen the Ryder Cup, especially after it has gone home with them six times in the last nine matches. “We certainly had some fun with it, took some memorable pictures on the plane and off the plane and all that kind of stuff,” Langer said.” It’s nice to have it in my grasp. And I’m not going to try and let go of it.” Lange)- has reason to believe his team can capture the Ryder Cup for the seventh time in the last 10 matches, even though the Americans again look stronger on paper. One of his captain’s picks, Donald, won the European Masters two weeks ago for his second victory in two months. Padraig Harrington, the highest-ranked player in Europe, picked up his first victory of the year Sunday in the German Masters. “For the first time, 1 think we are going over there not so much as underdogs,” Colin Montgomerie said as the team left London. “Of course, it will be difficult — don’t get me wrong. Playing away from home is always harder. At the same time, I’ll be very, very disappointed if we don’t bring back what we’re taking with us.” The U.S. team met for the first time together for dinner Monday night, although a few of them played casual practice rounds Monday — Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Fred Funk, Chad Campbell and David Toms. Mickelson was particularly dialed in. He took nearly six hours to play a practice round by himself, preparing for these matches like he does a major. A caddie placed six tiny flags at various spots on the green, and Mickelson chipped to all of them, pausing to fill his yardage book with notes. The Americans have five Ryder Cup rookies, and not all of them can be called fresh-faced kids. The newcomers include the 47-year-old Funk and 44-year-old Kenny Perry, ♦ Please see RYDER CUP, page 10 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS European team captain Bernhard Langer with the<t> Ryder Cup Trophy Tuesday. SEC News & Notes Williams, Harper earn weekly honors Auburn running back Carnell “Cadillac” Williams earned SEC offensive player of the week for his efforts Saturday against Mississippi State. The senior rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries in the Tigers’ (2-0) 43-14 win in Starkville. Williams has won the award eight times in his four year career. The game was Williams’ 11th career multi touchdown performance. SEC defensive player of the week honors went to Alabama safety Roman Harper for his game against Ole Miss. Harper recorded a game-high 11 tackles, one sack, a forced fumble, two pass deflections and a quarterback pressure that helped the Tide roll over the Rebels, 28-17. The Alabama defense allowed just 192 total yards and forced Ole Miss to three-downs-and-out on seven of 12 offensive drives. Week 3 to feature divisional batdes Vanderbilt travels to Oxford, where the Commodores haven’t won "since 1999. Ole Miss has won 10 of the past 11 meetings with Vandy. Georgia takes on Marshal in Athens, where the Bulldogs are 2-1 against Mid-American Conference opponents. The most anticipated game this week will be LSU playing at Auburn. The defending national champions are 5-7 in games played on the Auburn home turf. Alabama hosts Western Carolina after dismantling Ole Miss, 28-7. The Tide are 15-0 against current members of the Southern Conference. Arkansas plays Louisiana Monroe in Fayetteville. The average margin of victory for the Razorback against the Indians is 28.25 points. Mississippi State will play Maine at home as Sylvester Croom goes for his second career victory. South Florida comes to Columbia as the Gamecocks try to nurse the hangover of last week’s heartbreaking loss to Georgia. Indiana travels to Kentucky for a showdown with the Wildcats. Indiana is 2-0 for the first time since 1996. No. 11 Florida goes to Knoxville to take on the No. 13 Vols. The two teams have split the past six meetings.