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I _ „ GAME SCHEDULE Fage y WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY at Auburn, today Monday, October 11, 2004 MEN’S SOCCER vs.Charlotte, 7 p.m. Wednesday Whafs wrong 1 with ESPN? It is finally October, the most wonderful sports time of the year. Football five days a week, perfect weather, the baseball games on TV actually matter and Clemson is 1-4. I _ could go on 1 fnrpvpr If met feels good — doesn’t it? It is great to (know that when I come in from I class, I can turn on ESPN, sit back and enjoy some great sports. At least that is what I thought. I was hurt _I-.. KT^*- „ Jr JAKE BROOM SECOND-YEAR POLITICAL SCIENCE STUDENT girlfriend, not by a relative, not by a friend, but by a television network. It was mid-afternoon, my chemistry class got out early, and I had three tacos and a lazy evening in my immediate future. Or so I thought. I arrived at my room, dove on the futon and turned on the TV. Ahh ... ESPN, surely they’d be showing some playoff baseball, perhaps some NFL preview show, for the love of God at . least some golf. What I saw when I P| turned on the television was sick. So ' sick, in fact, that I recommend those with a weak stomach should not read on. Seriously, unless you want to puke all over this newspaper, stop reading right now. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. ... I saw ping-pong. I swear to you, ESPN was showing ping-pong. Not just ping-pong — we’re talking ping pong so intense that the players were wearing shorts so short they would make Paris Hilton blush. While hearing two announcers try to find ways to somehow relate these people to actual athletes ranked about an 8 on my Walker Texas Ranger Scale of Unintentionally Funny Television, I was angry. Seconds before I launched my remote into the TV, a little voice of reason spoke to me. mm “Fear not, Jake, for on the eighth V day God created ESPN2,” he said. Man, that was a close call. At least I’ve still got my ESPN2 ... or do I? I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and turned the channel to ESPN2. What would it be? Football? Baseball? Golf? Maybe even a cheerleading competition? No. They were showing the “World Series of Poker.” A collection of the strangest group of individuals I have ever ♦ Please see BROOM, page 10 No. 10 men’s soccer defeats Tigers NICK ESARES/THE GAMECOCK Junior forward Ryan Deter drives down the field on his way to scoring the winning goal of the game against Clemson on Sunday. The Gamecocks were victorious 1-0. ■ Gamecock defense holds on to 1-0 lead throughout 2nd half By BRIAN DAVIS THE GAMECOCK The USC men’s soccer team defeated Clemson 1-0 in front of more than 4,000 fans at Eugene E. Stone III Stadium on Sunday. Junior forward Ryan Deter scored the lone goal of the game on a breakaway in the 22nd minute. With the win, Carolina advances to 8-1-1 on the season, while Clemson drops to 6-4. The goal gave Deter nine points for the season, tying him with sophomore forward Ayo Akinsete atop the team. Deter scored after being subbed in for an injured Akinsete, who hurt his hamstring early in the contest. The game was an exchange of shot after shot with Carolina tallying 12 shots to Clemson’s 15. Although the Tigers held this advantage, they were unable to put the ball in the net because of the astounding play of the Carolina defense and sophomore goalkeeper Brad Guzan. “Our backline was outstanding for us. Brad was there when it was necessary and was exceptional,” USC head coach Mark Berson said. Ramon Paracat, Josh Alcala, Greg Reece and Makan Hislop held up the backline. Additionally, the midfield played well throughout as Eric Szeszycki, Ryan Leeton and Jose Ramos competed the entire game. Despite an injury, Leeton played the full 90 minutes. The seriousness of Akinsete’s hamstring injury and a Paracat ankle injury are still to be determined. Guzan had several neck-wrenching stops in a 90-minute, seven-save performance. The shutout was Guzan’s fourth of the season. “I was fortunate enough to have the guys in front of me. The back four and the midfield, they cut off about half of the shots I faced,” Guzan said. The physical game featured 40 total fouls and four yellow cards. “I’ve only been here for two years,” Guzan said. “Last year we lost on a penalty kick though, so we felt like we had to get some payback.” Qemson placed a lot of pressure on the Carolina defense by pressing its players up the field. Because of this, however, the Tigers managed to give up several big opportunities, including the Carolina goal. “In a game like this, they’re going to throw everything at you. You just have to be in a position to catch them when they put the pressure on,” Berson said. The importance of the Carolina Clemson rivalry certainly played a role in the competitive match. “This game is important just because of the rivalry. The challenge now is to bounce back and get ready for Wednesday night,” Berson said. The Gamecocks will host Charlotte on Wednesday night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Comments on this stoiy? E-mail ga7necocksports@g1vm.sc. edu USC Fall Break Sports. Schedule. Women’s volleyball: ♦ at Alabama, 7 p.m. Friday ♦ at Auburn, 1:30 p.m. Sunday Women’s soccer: ♦ vs. Mississippi, 7 p.m. Friday ♦ vs. Mississippi State, 1 p.m. Sunday Men’s soccer: ♦ vs. Charlotte, 7 p.m. Wednesday ♦ at North Carolina, 7 p.m. Saturday Recruiting class ranked ninth in country P • ■ ■***■■ ■'' mm — i ~~~g Brandon White S.C. High School Sports Report 2003 South Carolina AAAA Player of the Year ♦ Chris Brown 2002 Major League Baseball draft pick — 41st round, Minnesota Twins ♦ Andrew Crisp 2002 Major League Baseball draft pick — 35th round, Baltimore Orioles ♦ Trey Deik Two-time AAA Region IV Player of the Year as a junior and senior ♦ Joey Friddle 2003 Major League Baseball Draft Pick - 30th round, Pittsburgh Pirates ♦ Neil Gieler 2003 Major League Baseball Draft Pick — 37th round, Chicago White Sox ♦ Brad Hocking Went 10-0 with a 0.97 ERA in 58 innings pitched, with 83 strikeouts and 12 walks as a junior W4 Jeff Jeffords 2004 Major League Baseball Draft Pick — 32nd round, Baltimore Orioles ♦ Brent Marsh # * Posted a 5-0 record with six saves and a 1.10 ERA in 2004 season ♦ Ian Paxton Batted .307 with eight HR and 45 RBIs as a sophomore at Gulf Coast C.C. § ♦ Wynn Pelzer | Four-time All-Region selection 2 ♦ Craig Thomas 3 Earned All-Region honors as a sophomore, junior and senior £ ♦ Cory Vanderhook I 2004 MVP and earned All-Conference honors as a sophomore “ ♦ Chris Warner co y j 2003 Major League Baseball Draft Pick - - 42nd Round, L.A. Dodgers Q. < i CE By TODD GREEN THE GAMECOCK In the past $ve years, no team has won more baseball games than the 1“ Gamecocks. The baseball program is quickly approaching dynasty status, and last week’s announcement of the ninth ( ranked recruiting class in the country shouldn’t hurt. ^ The 2004 recruiting class intends to improve on the already-impressive resume of South Carolina baseball. This marks the fifth-straight year the Gamecocks have signed a top ten-ranked class. Fall practice is underway, and the new group of USC baseball players is expected to make a quick impact on the team. “There’s going to be guys from that recruiting class on the field right away,” USC head coach Ray Tanner said. Look for junior college transfers Chris Brown and Neil Giesler to see x early playing time. Giesler played for the Junior College National All-Star Team last year. He batted .432, knocked seven home runs and had 32 RBIs in his sophomore year at Okaloosa Walton Community College. Brown had a stellar first season at Manatee Community College, batting .337, with 12 doubles, five triples, three home runs and 24 RBIs. He also went 20-for-20 in stolen bases. Freshman pitcher Wynn Pelzer has also looked impressive. “There is a lot of talent in this state and we’ve done well.” RAY TANNER HEAD BASEBALL COACH The newcomers on the team include six players that have been drafted previously by Major League Baseball. Of the 14 players to sign with USC, seven are junior college transfers, seven are freshman and nine hail from the Palmetto state. Recruiting South Carolina’s finest continues to be a benchmark for Coach Tanner’s program. “There is a lot of talent in this state, and we’ve done well. That’s our first priority, and then we’ll go nationwide to try and put a good team on the field,” Tanner said. Baseball is unique from other major sports in that high school seniors are regularly drafted. When a school offers scholarships to as many talented high school players as USC does, the chances that some of these players will be drafted in June are greatly increased. The possibility of recruits turning professional can leave coaches scrambling to meet their recruiting needs. The flip side is that if too many players are recruited that have no chance of getting drafted, the talent level in a program could suffer. The challenge for USC’s program is to find the balance with players with the talent to become a professional, but who are also committed to playing college baseball. “It’s very difficult to find that happy medium. All you can do is hope that it happens. There is no way to calculate it or to figure it all out. You just don’t know,” Tanner said. The' excitement of playing for a powerhouse program like USC, in a state that loves college baseball, is what brings many top prospects to Columbia. It also helps that many former Gamecocks have gone on to play professional baseball. Last year’s team alone had seven players drafted on the first day of the draft, including two in the first round. “Young guys that are prospective student athletes — they want to play in nice facilities, they want to play in front of great crowds and they want to play for a program that has the chance to win at the highest level, and we do have the best fans in the country, there’s no doubt about it,” Tanner said. USC baseball fans should become familiar with this year’s recruiting class early. This promising group will be expected to contribute much in the Gamecocks’ quest for an SEC title, a return to the College World Series and a national title. Comments on this story? E-mail %am ecock sports®girm .sc. edu