The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 20, 2004, Page 8, Image 8
GAME SCHEDULE
p-__ 8 MEN’S SOCCER at Wake Forest, 7 p.m. Friday
rage o VOLLEYBALL vs. Mississippi St., 7 p.m. Friday
Monday, September 20, 2004 WOMEN’S SOCCER at Auburn, 8 p.m. Friday
USC rallies past
49ers in OT win
By MATTHEW NAGY
THE GAMECOCK
USC’s senior leadership
continues to shine as the
Gamecocks rallied to defeat
Charlotte Sunday afternoon at the
Graveyard.
Seniors Ashley Williams and
Sarah Lentz provided the goal
scoring for Carolina as the team
was able to squeak a 2-1 double
overtime victory from the 49ers.
Carolina was lethargic from the
start and did not play well in the
first half. Charlotte took advantage
of USC’s lazy play and got on the
board first with a goal in the 23rd
minute. 49er junior forward Liz
Rucker netted the goal on an
excellent corner kick by freshman
Lindsey Beam.
“We all just got caught
standing,” said Lentz, who saw
Rucker walk in virtually
uncontested en route to scoring her
first goal of the season.
The goal served as a rude
awakening to the Gamecock team
that was coming off a huge upset
win over rival Clemson.
Sophomore Jessi Swaim led the
charge early for Carolina, creating
many chances for forwards Lexi
Randazzo and Williams. USC was,
however, kept off the scoreboard
until early in the second half when
Williams scored.
It was an excellent long ball
from Courtney Cobbs that led to a
solid breakaway chance for
Williams. With a quick header to
put the ball to her feet, Williams
then pulled away from chasing
defenders and was able to slide the
ball underneath a diving 49er
goalie. As the ball trickled in the
back of the1 net, USC was suddenly
■back into the game and the teams
early season form began to
reappear.
The goal puts the senior striker'
into a tie with Lydia Bienias for
seventh place on the USC all-time
career scoring list. Williams’ sixth
goal on the season places her at the
top of the SEC in scoring this year.
In the last six games Williams has
scored six goals, failing to score
only in the contest against Clemson
last Wednesday night.
An overmatched Charlotte team
was able to hold on to the tie long
enough to send the game into two
extra periods. Carolina had plenty
of chances to take the lead in the
second half, but was unable to
convert. But as the end of the game
loomed with 33 seconds remaining
in the second overtime, Sarah Lentz
was able to put the game away with
a header that sailed past keeper
Shannon Huffman. The goal was
Lentz’s third goal of the year, all of
them game-winners.
Carolina was fortunate to
escape with a win against a
Charlotte team that outplayed
them for most of the game. The
Gamecocks are still reeling from
the loss of junior co-captain
Kimmy Criss on defense and
looked lost on many occasions in
the back. While Lentz and
sophomore Erin Geldhof were
able to shut down the wing play
for most of the game, Carolina had
plenty of trouble in dealing with
the center of the field. The
Gamecocks gave Charlotte plenty
of second chances with poor
clearances, but were able to keep
the 49ers out of the back of the net
in the second half and overtime.
Charlotte now falls to 0-7-0 on
the year as they look towards
Conference USA play. Carolina
now has to look to a tough SEC
schedule that begins Friday at
Auburn. Led by their two standout
seniors, USC is coming into
conference play with high
expectations. The Gamecocks have
a strong squad, but will have to
work on communication between
the backline and the forwards, as
there were many errant passes
against the 49ers.
Carolina freshmen have gained
plenty of experience in winning
games such as this and look to carry
that winning edge into the SEC
season.
“They’ve really stepped up for
us,” said Ashley Williams, who will
need the help of freshman
standouts such as Courtney Cobbs
and Lexi Randazzo in order to stay
successful once the competition
gets tougher.
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KATIE KIRKLAND/THt GAMtuUCK
Freshman Kimmy Gillespie dribbles past a pair of Charlotte 49ers during Sunday’s 2-0 win. The victory
came after senior Sarah Lentz scored the game winning goal with 33 seconds left in double overtime.
%
Carolina goes winless against Ivy League
■ USC loses to
UPenn 2-1, ties
Princeton 2-2
By BRIAN DAVIS
THE GAMECOCK
The USC men’s soccer team tied
Princeton 2-2 after losing its first
game to the University of
Pennsylvania Quakers.
Alex Reison scored the game
tying goal on an assist from Ryan
Rich.
The Gamecocks were in the lead
twice as sophomore Ayo Akinsete
struck first, tallying his fourth goal
of the season in the 43rd minute on
an assist from sophomore forward
Michael Sambursky.
Just minutes into the second half
.however, Rich scored from 20
yards out to even the match at 1-1.
The Gamecocks took the lead
again in the 60th minute as junior
defender Greg Reece scored on a
strike delivered by defender Josh
Alcala.
Despite the impressive late
effort by Reece, the Gamecocks
were unable to cling onto their lead
as Princeton tied the game on
Reison’s strike in the 65th minute,
just five minutes after the last
Carolina goal.
Fouling was prevalent in this
game as Carolina was assessed 15
penalties to the Tigers’ 10.
Additionally, Carolina was given
four yellow cards to the two
assigned to Princeton.
Sophomore goalkeeper Brad
Guzan made nine saves on 14 Tiger
shots, nearly tying his career record
of 10.
The Gamecocks were defeated
for the first time Friday in a 2-1 loss
against the host Quakers.
After exchanging late goals,
Stephen Kroculick scored a goal in
the 78th minute of play to seal the
victory for the Quakers. Kroculick
was assisted on the play by Joshua
Duyan.
After battling through a
scoreless first half, Duyan put the
Quakers up TO in the 63rd minute
with a shot from three yards out,
his first goal of this season.
However, the Gamecocks
bounced back only eight minutes
later as • freshman forward
Sebastian Lindholm scored off of a
free kick by Eric Szeszycki in the
71st minute.
The goal, Lindholm’s second of
the season, seemed to be a
reinforcement of the Gamecocks’
ability to make big plays when
necessary.
“We showed real character to
come back and tie the game, but we
let it get away from us and we need
to change that,” Gamecock coach
Mark Berson said of the late goal.
The Gamecocks held the
advantage in shots over UPenn 15
14 but were unable to capitalize on
any opportunities.
Because of this offensive
pressure, Quaker goalkeeper Daniel
Cepero was forced to make eight
saves on the 15 shots to preserve the
lead.
“We showed real
character to come
back and tie the
game, but we let it get
away from us and we
need to change that.”
MARK BERSON
use COACH
On the other side of the field,
Guzan had four saves on the 14
Quaker attempts.
Unfortunately however, the
Gamecocks were unable to take
much advantage of Guzan’s
impressive performance.
On the season, Carolina turned
to 4-1-1 after their weekend against
Ivy League competition.
The men’s soccer team’s next
match will be at Wake Forest as they
look to oust this Atlantic Coast
Conference opponent.
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gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu
KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK
sophomore goalkeeper Brad Guzan clears the ball out of the box
during a game this season. Guzan had nine saves Sunday.
Volleyball holds serve at Gamecock Invitational
SARAH ZILINSKY/THE GAMECOCK
Freshman middle blocker Belita Sanders ahd teammate Lynae Vanden Hull go forla block in Saturday’s
match against Michigan State. The Gamecocks won this year’s Gamecock Invitiational.
By MEGAN GIBSON
THE GAMECOCK
The USC volleyball team was 2-0
this weekend, winning the
Gamecock Invitational Tournament
in Columbia.
The Gamecocks defeated
Michigan State on Saturday in five
games (30-22, 30-21, 21-30, 25-30,
15-6) and Notre Dame on Sunday in
four (30-28, 25-30, 30-22, 30-23).
In their first win ever against the
Spartans, Carolina took a 2-0 game
lead in the match. In game one, the
Gamecocks held Michigan State to a
.000 kill percentage with eight
attempts and eight errors, while the
Gamecocks had 19 kills. USC
controlled the second game as well,
hitting a .529 with 20 kills and only
two errors'. However Michigan State
came out strong in game three and
took an early lead. The Gamecocks
trailed by as many as nine at one
time and never made up the deficit
to lose game three 21-30.
Game four was a tight matchup
with nine ties. Carolina stayed in the
game, never trailing by more than
four points until the final point gave
Michigan State the game 30-25. The
Spartans tied up the match at two
games each, forcing the Gamecocks
into a fifth and final game/
USC was down early in the fifth
game 3-1. Shonda Cole gave the
Gamecocks the momentum on a big
kill that led to a 6-0 run. The
Spartans never regained their
composure and allowed Carolina to
go on consecutive 4-0 and 3-0 runs
while they totaled only six points,
winning the fifth game 15-6.
The Gamecocks then faced Notre
Dame in the tournament
championship game Sunday. In game
one the Irish came out strong, leading
USC by as many as eight on a 6-0 run
to make the score 5-13. Sarah
Morgan kept the Gamecocks alive
with an impressive game-high six
digs. She was also a powerful force at
the net with a .400 kill percentage.
The turn-around came when
Lynae Vanden Hull went on a 7-0
serving streak, including one ace, to
put USC up 19-16. During this run
Morgan had two kills to keep the
momentum with the Gamecocks.
Due to a streak of unforced errors on
serve-receive for the Gamecocks,
Meg Henican of Notre Dame went
on a serving run of her own to give
the Irish back their lead 23-22. The
game then tied at 25, 26 and 27
before Carolina finished it off 30-28.
Game two looked much like game
one, with Notre Dame taking the
early lead. Cole led the way for the
Gamecocks with a team-high six kills
and a .417 kill percentage. The Irish
were up 10-18 at one point, finding a
hole behind USC’s block. However,
impressive net play by Katelyn Panzau
with four kills and Vanden Hull with
three brought the Gamecocks back to
within five. Unfortunately that five
point deficit was never made up and
the Irish won the second game 25-30.
The Gamecocks came out strong
in game three and took an early 6-2
lead through a serving streak by
Nicole Miller including two aces in a
row* However, Notre Dame’s Lauren
Brewster retaliated a serving streak of
her own with four aces to give the
Irish the lead 7-9. It was then a close
battle until the Gamecocks went on a
6-0 run to widen the lead to 25-18
and eventually win the game 30-22.
Morgan led the game in kills with five
while Lauren Ford guided the defense
with an impressive three blocks.
Notre Dame went on a five point
run at the end of die fourth game to
make the score 22-18. From there
USC regained the momentum and
only allowed the Irish five more
points. Morgan again led the team
with five kills, while Cole kept the
Gamecocks defensively in the game
with five digs. .USC finished off the
game with an ace and an Irish error to
win the match three games to one.
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