University of South Carolina Libraries
- ■ ' • ■ ■ ■ _ * PfYRTQ GAME SCHEDULE Patre12 I ■ I I ■ I i VOLLEYBALL at Mississippi, 7 p.m. Friday J _ , , I \ / I I I L V WOMEN’S SOCCER at Vanderbilt, 8 p.m. Friday Wednesday, October 6,2004 1, 1 rs'—/ FOOTBALL vs. Mississippi, 1 p.m. Saturday __■ ■ Holtz defends offense, looks back on Bama By STEPHEN FASTENAU THE GAMECOCK USC head coach Lou Holtz sounded Monday as if the day-in, day-out duties of his position were beginning to take their toll almost midway through the season. “First of all, I’m not totally prepared for this news conference,” Holtz said. “There’s always a million things pulling on you. “I’ve had some distractions. I haven’t been able to get as comfortable on the game plan as I’d like, but I hope to do so in the next three hours before we practice.” Other than sounding somewhat tired, Holtz didn’t seem unprepared. The coach continued in his normal routine of reviewing injuries from the previous week’s game and also gave rare insight into his coaching philosophy. Holtz said quarterback Dondrial Pinkins, who injured his shoulder in Saturday’s game against Alabama, would undergo an MRI Monday night but that doctors upheld it as nothing more than a bruise. The Gamecocks only attempted 11 passes, completing four. Holtz said they had no need to throw the ball as he gave his philosophy for playing with a lead. “Let’s not gamble,” Holtz said. “Let’s not do anything we don’t have to do. We could have thrown the ball. At the same time, when we got up 20-3, they never did stop us running. It’s not real difficult to turn and hand the ball to the tailback.” Holtz seemed to be giving a rebuttal to those who view his play calling as too conservative at times. The coach maintained that he does what is necessary to win but said that running the ball has its advantages. “We use up the clock when we run the bail,” Holtz said. “We also keep the Dther team’s offense on the bench. We discourage them from thinking they can win the longer the game goes. That’s nasically my philosophy.” After studying the film from the *ame, Holtz hinted that he might have been too quick to heap praise on bis team directly following a 20-3 win. “Nothing’s as good as it seems, and nothing’s as bad as it seems,” Holtz »aid. “I’ve come out of a game so upset md look at the film and get encouraged md come out of a game feeling good md look at the film and get discouraged.” Holtz said that he would like to play more people on offense, particularly on the offensive line due, to the fatigue that showed in the unit late in the game. Troy Williamson was singled out as the most encouraging aspect of Saturday night’s offense, even though the receiver did not have a reception. “When you look at the film, he knew we weren’t going to throw it yet he played his heart out,” Holtz said. The turnovers against Alabama had Holtz worried, most notably because they occurred deep in Crimson Tide territory. “(Turnovers) always occurred on first down,” Holtz said. “If we could get to second down, I’d feel better. You can’t have three turnovers. The interception was just a poor read and a poor throw.” USC dominated the time of possession against Alabama, holding the ball for 34 minutes to just 26 for the Crimson Tide. Comments on this story ? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK Head football coach Lou Holtz answers questions at his weekly news conference. Holtz is in his sixth season at USC. Holtz was questioned about the team's offensive performance last Saturday, as the team only completed four passes out of 11 attempts in the game. Carolina fights to keep tournament hopes alive ■ m KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK Freshman midfielder Ashley Kirk, right, looks to pass the ball to USC’s leading scorer, senior forward Ashley Williams. Williams and senior Sarah Lentz serve as the leaders for this young Carolina squad. By MATT NAGY THE GAMECOCK Midway through the 2004 season, the South Carolina women’s soccer team stands at 6-6-1, telling the tale for what has been an up-and-down season, marked by a big win against nationally ranked Clemson as well as faltering in SEC conference play. The biggest story for Carolina has been the win against archrival Clemson, a team ranked as high as No. 7 going into the match-up with the Gamecocks on Sept. 15. The Gamecocks edged out a 2-0 victory against the Tigers behind a game winner by senior Sarah Lentz. It was the first win against the Tigers since 1996 and, even more remarkably, featured the first goal scored by Carolina against Clemson since 1998. It has been the biggest win of the young season, and arguably the biggest win in the program’s nine and a half years on the varsity level. “For us to go in and beat a team like Clemson was a huge boost to our confidence and our program,” USC head coach Shelley Smith said. “The win really showed how far this program has come lately, and I was very proud of our team.” A win the following weekend marked ror us 10 gu m diiu beat a team like Clemson was a huge boost to our confidence and our program. The win really showed how far this program has come lately, and I was very proud of our team.” SHELLEY SMITH use WOMEN’S SOCCER HEAD COACH the end of what was a very successful out of-conference season, leading the Gamecocks to a 6-3-0 record heading into SEC play. However, Carolina has yet to win in its four games of SEC play. Carolina has only managed to score four goals in four games against Auburn, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee, while conceding 10. “We are very disappointed in the way we have started our conference schedule,” Smith said. “The thing that bothers us is that we* have outplayed every team we have played at one point in the game, but we ve had trouble finishing teams off. Both Lentz and fellow senior Ashley Williams have been held to only one goal total so far in SEC play. The two have combined for 10 of the Gamecocks’ goals, and both had & stellar first half of the season. Williams’ four-game point streak was snapped during the victory against Clemson. Williams leads the team with six goals this season. She moved into 7th place on the all-time USC scoring list when she scored her sixth goal in a win against Charlotte. Sarah Lentz has had a senior season to remember as the co-captain has scored four goals, more than her first three seasons combined. Lentz also has a knack for scoring big goals, as three of her four goals this season have been game-winners. Lentz has provided leadership in the defense as well, as the Gamecocks lost the service of junior co-captain Kimmy Criss for most of the season. While the loss might have hurt the Gamecock defense, Carolina has also seen its share of freshmen step up not only at the back, but in other key positions. Freshmen Lexi Randazzo, Courtney Cobbs and Ashley Kirk have all stepped ♦ Please see SEASON, page 13 / // SEQNews & Notes Gamecock kicker honored for Bama brilliance USC kicker Josh Brown has earned SEC special teams player of the week honors for his efforts in the Gamecocks’ 20-3 win at Alabama. The junior from Clarksburg* Md., connected on two first-half field goals (29, 28 yards) while averaging 41.5 yards on four punts. Two of Brown’s punts were downed inside the Alabama 20. Brown’s field goals tied him for eighth in the SEC in scoring. The SEC offensive player of the week award was given to Florida quarterback Chris Leak. Leak threw for a career-high 322 yards while matching a career-high three touchdowns in the Gators’ 45-30 win over Arkansas. Auburn safety Junior Rosegreen is the SEC’s defensive player of the week after intercepting Tennessee four times and-helping the Tigers win big in Knoxville 34-10. The four interceptions tied a 65-year-old SEC record and set an Auburn mark for most interceptions in a game by one player. Tennessee-Georgia showdown highlights week 6 Kentucky will host Alabama after an embarrassing loss to Ohio. The Crimson Tide are also coming off an ugly loss. Bama threw four interceptions in a 20-3 loss to USC. USC tries to go 3-1 in the SEC when it plays Ole Miss at home. The Gamecocks will try to avenge last year’s 43 40 loss to the Rebels. Mississippi State will take on 3-1 UAB in Starkville, Miss. MSU is looking for its second win of the season. Auburn tries to keep rolling along after last week’s domination of then 3-0 Tennessee. The Tigers will host Louisiana Tech. The SEC’s game of the week will be an Eastern Division showdown between Tennessee and Georgia in Athens, Ga. The Volunteers are coming off a _ reality check from Auburn while Georgia dusted LSU at home 45-16 Vanderbilt will host the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers. Rutgers has posted impressive wins against Michigan State and Kent State. LSU goes into the Swamp looking to rebound against the No. 12 Florida Gators. J^^k 110J Florida holds a 19-11 -2 series advantage. 1 Florida quarterback Chris Leak Freshman talent yields USC midseason success By JAKE BROOM THE GAMECOCK No seniors? No problem. The USC men’s soccer team (7-1-1) has enjoyed a successful start to its 2004 campaign by counting on a group of young but seasoned players. The Gamecocks started out the year by holding a heralded Virginia team to a 0-0 tie in a late-August exhibition game. A few days later, the Gamecocks won their eighth-straight home opener against William and Mary on a game-winning goal by freshman Sebastian Lindholm. The Gamecocks finally left Columbia on Sept. 4 but didn’t have to travel far to shut out Winthrop 2-0 in Rock Hill. They returned to Columbia to claim their third-straight victory in the Gamecock Classic by beating Portland 3-2 and getting a late goal by sophomore Mike Sambursky to top Bucknell, 1-0. For the second road trip of the year, USC head coach Mark Berson and the Gamecocks headed north to Philadelphia for the Penn Soccer Classic. This tournament was less successful, as the team suffered a 2-1 loss to the host team Pennsylvania ♦ Please see fALENT, page 13 NICK ESARES/THE GAMECOCK Sophomore defender Cody Perrot dribbles past a Gardner Webb defender. Fre$hmen and sophomqres have played a f key role in the early success of the Gamecocks this season.