The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 29, 2004, Page 13, Image 13
GAME SCHEDULE
MEN’S SOCCER at Davidson, 7 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL vs. Tennessee, 7 p.m.
MEN’S SOCCER
USC to battle
defense-minded
Davidson squad
By JAKE BROOM
THE GAMECOCK
I
Fresh off a 1-0 victory over
No. 13 Wake Forest in Winston
Salem, N.C., the USC men’s
soccer team faces another test on
the road Wednesday as it travels
to face the Davidson Wildcats.
Davidson, coming off a year
that produced a Southern
Conference title and a trip to the
NCAA tournament, is a team on
the rise. The 2004 Wildcats
return plenty of experienced
players who have the talent to
play multiple positions. The 23
member team features eight
freshmen, but they are not relied
upon to contribute heavily.
The strength of this Davidson
team is in its defense. The
Wildcats return every starter
from a defensive unit that
produced a school-best 10
shutouts in 2003. Included in the
returning starters is John Latting,
a 2003 All-South honoree, and
Nahum Navas, an All
Conference selection. Latting
and Navas are entering their
third full year as starters for the
Wildcats.
While the Davidson defenders
are well known in the Southern
Conference for shutting down
opposing offenses, they can also
be a threat to score. Head coach
Matt Spear likes to take chances,
sending Navas and fellow
defender Ben Kittinger forward
during fast breaks to capitalize on
their excellent passing and
shooting.
The last line of defense is a
strong point for the Wildcats, as
they return goalkeeper Bart
Creasman. Creasman, a senior,
posted a stellar 0.76 goals against
average in 2003, a school record.
While his ability to stop shots has
garnered him consideration for
the All-Conference team, he also
excels in distributing the ball to
offensive players after making a
save. This often leads to quick
goals on counterattacks.
The Davidson offense is
without any standout individual
performers, but it plays well as a
group. Its strength is in its
passing, as the 2003 team
recorded 31 assists to go with its
35 goals. The offense will count
on its talented defenders making
runs and helping out on the
offensive end of the field.
Returning for the offense is
midfielder David Sartorio.
Sartorio suffered an offseason
knee injury that kept him out of
the 2003 season. He assisted on
nine goals as a freshman and will
be counted on to contribute. Also
returning is sophomore Cass
Baltz, who started off his college
career with three goals and five
assists in 2003. Former reserve
Preston Davis, a junior, could
likely move up into a starting
position this year at left wing.
Freshmen Jon Bassett, Aaron
West and Diego Fildes-Torrijos
will look to contribute as
attacking midfielders.
A four-way battle for playing
time has begun as juniors Matt
Allen and Jeff Davis, along with
sophomores Marco Antunez and
Mac Wilkie, look to contribute as
forwards. Davis is the team’s
leading returning scorer after
posting eight goals and five assists
in 2003.
While the Gamecocks might
be looking for a break after the
upset at Wake Forest, this isn’t
the game to provide one. The
Wildcats are a heavily
experienced team and have
already knocked off another SEC
team in Vanderbilt, 5-2.
Davidson might be a small school
in a small town, but if the
Gamecocks don’t play their best
soccer, they could be the ones
getting upset this time around.
Comments on this stoiy ? E-mail
gamecockspoits@gwm.sc. edu
VOLLEYBALL
CHARLIE DAVENPORT/THE GAMECOCK
Sophomore setter Katelyn Panzau serves a ball during Friday’s match against
Mississippi State. Carolina takes on Tennessee tonight at 7 p.m.
FOOTBALL
Offense incorporates
committee approach
to find winning style
By STEPHEN DEMEDIS
THE GAMECOCK
In USC’s win over Troy
University on Saturday, the team
featured an offense by committee
approach. The coaching staff
rotated players in and out of the
backfield in search of a spark, and
this appears to be a trend the
team will continue in search of a
successful offense.
Quarterbacks Syvelle Newton
and Dondrial Pinkins alternated
possessions in Saturday’s victory.
Newton went 10-of-l4 for 98
yards, while his senior mentor
went six-of-10 for 101 yards.
Each led the team to touchdowns
and threw one interception.
While USC head coach Lou
Holtz acknowledged that each
single caller needs to improve, he
said he does not feel that either
one has to become the obvious
starter.
“I really don’t feel that
someone really has to emerge.
Our two most productive players
on offense, other than our
receivers, are our quarterbacks, in
terms of running the ball,” Holtz
said. “And with the amount of
pounding they take and all the
pressure on them, it might be too
much for one guy to take on."
Holtz maintained that if one
emerged as the better
quarterback, than that individual
would start and receive most of
the snaps. Two concerns the
coaching staff has with rotating
the quarterbacks is that the team
could become predictable with
the play calling for each
quarterback and that the team
could be divided on the issue.
“Let’s make sure that we don’t
have two teams,” Holtz said.
“We may have two quarterbacks,
but I don’t want two teams.”
As with the quarterback
system, the running game is the
responsibility of five individuals,
not including the quarterbacks.
In the game against Troy, four
different running backs ran the
ball for the Gamecocks. Senior
Gonzie Gray led the team with
13 carries for 47 yards, an average
of 3.6 yards per carry. Junior
Daccus Turman pounded the
ball 10 times for 26 yards,
including the team long of 13
yards. '
The running game was again
handicapped by the absence of
sophomore Demetris Summers,
who suffered a high ankle sprain
on the first play of the Georgia
game. Summers’ status for the
Alabama game is not known this
early in the week, but Holtz did
not refute speculation that his
prize recruit from a year ago
could miss the entire season.
Summers said he met with the
coach Monday to give him an
update and practiced that
afternoon. He said he thought
that he would be able to play
Saturday.
Overall, Holtz said he is
pleased with the play of their
backs and does not question their
desire to win, noting their selfless
play, but said he feels that the
team needs a back that the
offense can feature.
“I would love to have a guy
carry the ball 30 times a game
and to have the productivity.
Our backs are playing well
without the football. These guys
want to win, there is no
question,” Holtz said. “But we
just have not been consistent in
gaining yards. A guy that carries
the ball 30 times is a guy that is
going to move the chains.”
One could argue that
Summers or Cory Boyd, who was
held to seven carries against
Troy, has the talent to be the
back that Holtz desires.
Regardless, the team will travel to
Tuscaloosa for its third SEC
game of the season, looking for
either an individual or
combination to jump start an
offense ranked 43rd in the
nation.
Notes
Ko Simpson — The coaching
staff continues to be impressed
by starting safety Ko Simpson.
The freshman from Rock Hill
was just a two-star recruit coming
out of high school but has
quickly solidified a secondary
said to have many holes. On the
year, Simpson has 20 tackles, two
interceptions, one touchdown
and five passes defended.
“It is unbelievable how well
Ko Simpson is playing for just a
true freshman,” Holtz said. “I
have never had a freshman step in
► Please see FOOTBALL, page 14
FILE PHOTO/THE GAMECOCK
Sophomore Brandon Wallace goes for a layup during last
year’s SEC Tournament.
w
Canadian matches
to give basketball
preseason practice
By STEPHEN FASTENAU
THE GAMECOCK
USC men’s basketball head
coach Dave Odom met with the
media in his first press conference
of the season Monday. Odom
noted that his team has
continued to improve and looks
^ forward to a tougher schedule
Pj, this season that includes games at
L Kansas and Pittsburgh.
The team will travel to
Canada Oct. 13-17 to play
exhibition games in Ottawa and
Montreal. Odom sounded
excited about the opportunity,
given that it allows his team to
begin practice three weeks earlier
than usual. USC will be able to
practice 10 days before leaving
for Canada.
“I’ve felt that in-season
foreign tours are much better
than the out-of-season ones,”
0|bm said. “Your entire te/tn is
included — freshman, junior
college transfers, everybody.”
The Gamecocks will play
Carleton University in Ottawa Oct.
14. The school has won the past
two Canadian national
championships. USC will play the
University of Ottawa Oct. 15
before traveling to Montreal to take
on Concordia University Oct. 16.
“I wanted to go to a place
where we could play ‘real’ teams,”
Odom said.
Odom held the team’s first
practice at 6 a.m. Monday. The
team also practiced Monday
afternoon and will practice again
today at 4:30 p.m. Odom said his
team would practice Mondays,
Wednesdays and Fridays while
conducting individual workouts
on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
As for the state of his team,
Odom noted that the Gamecocks
♦ Please see OlDOM, page 14
Strong Vol offense
could be problem
for Hull, Carolina
By JIM ROCHE
THE GAMECOCK
While most USC fans are busy drying off
from the heavy rains of Tropical Storm Jeanne,
the Gamecock volleyball team is preparing for
tonight’s match-up against the No. 24 Tennessee
Volunteers.
The Gamecocks are
coming off their weekend
sweep of the Ole Miss
Rebels on Sunday, beating
them 30-26, 30-26, 30-24,
and improving to 1-1 in
the SEC and 8-3 overall.
Shonda Cole recorded her
10th • double-figure kill
match or the season with 14 while Lynae vanaen
Hull recorded a season high of four service aces
with 10 kills and a .444 hitting percentage. South
Carolina played well defensively, as it held Ole
Miss to under a .200 hitting percentage the
entire game.
We played with conhdence again, and this is
■ an important win as we head into our next match
against 24th-ranked Tennessee on Wednesday,”
USC head coach Kim Hudson said.
The Tennessee Vols are off to their best start
in nearly 30 years at 12-1 overall and 2-0 in SEC
play. The last time the Volunteers started out this
well was in 1973 when the Lady Vols started out
20-0. The Lady Vols are coming off a weekend
sweep over the entire state of Mississippi.
Tennessee swept Ole Miss 30-20, 30-23, 30-20
Friday, and swept Mississippi State 30-23, 30
23, 30-24 Sunday.
Tennessee is loaded with power up front.
Kristen Andre Was named SEC Player of the
Week for the second time in a month. Andre has
48 kills, 12 blocks, nine digs, and four service
aces while sporting a .412 hitting average.
“Kristen is a huge reason we had such a
successful week,” Tennessee head coach Rob
Patrick said. “Often, we were able to go to her to
stop runs by the other teams. She is very
deserving of the award and has been a quiet
leader of our team for the past two years, playing
just as hard every day in practice as she does in
matches.”
Tennessee \ also has weapons in senior
Michelle Piantadosi and sophomore Sarah Blum.
Both are hitting over .300 and give the Lady Vols
stability on defense, combining for 35 digs.
South Carolina needs to stop Tennessee’s
high-powered offense.
Tennessee had a .381
hitting average against
Mississippi State, making it
the seventh time this year
Tennessee has hit above
.300. Piantadosi hit .519
(17-3-27), including .500
(5-0-10) in game one
against the Bulldogs and .529 (Sj-l-lU; in game
two. Junior setter Julie Knytych had 50 assists
against Mississippi, which puts her to 629 on the
♦ Please see VOLLEYBALL, page 14
• HAPul .! -Jf p' THE .ir.’Ei 1
Junior Nicole Miller goes down for a dig
in last weekend’s series against MSU.
1
“This is an important
win as we head into
our next match...”
KIM HUDSON
HEAD VOLLEYBALL COACH
SEC
News & Notes
FLORIDA, LSU PLAYERS GARNER WEEKLY HONORS
Florida running back Ciatrick Fason has been named SEC
offensive player of the week for his performance Saturday
against Kentucky. The junior from Neptune Beach, Fla., set
career highs with 210 yards rushing on 31 carries and five
receptions for 43 yards in the Gators’ 20-3 win. Fason scored
rwo touchdowns, one rushing and the other receiving, and
became the first Florida back to pass the 200-yard single-game
rushing mark since Emmitt Smith in 1989.
The SEC defensive player of the week honor went to LSU
cornerback Corey Webster. Webster had two tackles, an
interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery all in the
first half of the Tigers’ 31-0 trouncing of Mississippi State.
Ole Miss kicker Jonathan Nichols earned SEC special
teams player of the week honors for totaling 14 points in the
Rebels’ 37-32 loss to Wyoming.
LSU, GEORGIA MATCH-UP HIGHLIGHTS WEEK 5
Florida takes on SEC West surprise Arkansas at home.
Arkansas is 3-1 and is coming off a big win against Alabama.
Some preseason publications predicted the inexperienced
Razorbacks to finish last in the West.
Ole Miss returns ro Oxford after a tough loss to Wyoming
to play Arkansas State. This will be the Indians second SEC
game this year. They also lost to LSU 53-3 in Baton Rouge.
In the SEC’s most anticipated game of the year, LSU goes
into Athens already having lost to Auburn to take on the Georgia
Bulldogs in a rematch of last year’s SEC championship game.
The Gamecocks travel to Alabama in a match-up of 3-1 teams.
The winner will have a leg up throughout the rest of its SEC schedule.
In another crucial SEC game, Auburn heads into Neyland
Stadium 4-0 looking to get past one of its
biggest hurdles of the season,
is 3-0, and both teams have
national title aspirations.
Florida running back
Ciatrick Fason, right,
' goes through j
Kentucky’s Earven A
Flowers to score a
touchdown in the |
first half of Saturday’s I
game in Gainesville, |
Fla.
*