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>1-1 GAMECOCK CHALLENGE THE CHALLENGE: Every week, The Gamecock’s readers and staff test their sports knowledge with game predictions. 18 Louisville at 3 Miami 25 Ohio State at Iowa 15 Arizona State at 1 So. Cal NC State at Maryland 10 Wisconsin at 5 Purdue 6 Virginia at 7 Florida State k Missouri at 9 Texas_ * Arkansas at 4 Auburn_ 24 Southern Miss at Alabama USC at Kentucky Jonathan Hillyard Sports editor (37-19) Miami Iowa ASU Maryland Wisconsin Virginia Texas Auburn So. Miss use" 35-6 Adam Beam Editor in chief (41-15) Miami OSU So. Cal. NC State Purdue FSU Texas Auburn So. Miss - use 21-3 David Stagg Design director (38-18) Miami Iowa So. Cal. NC State Purdue FSU Texas Auburn Alabama use 28-21 Wes Wolfe Viewpoint: editor (32-24) Miami OSU So. Cal. NC State Purdue FSU Texas Arkansas Alabama Uk 16-13 Steven Van Haren ; Copy editor (41-15) Miami OSU So. Cal. NC State Purdue FSU Texas Auburn So. Miss use 21-7 Jason Hennessy Reader of the week (35-21) Miami OSU So. Cal. Maryland Purdue Virginia Texas Auburn Alabama use 24-10 WANT TO BE READER OF THE WEEK? E-MAIL SELECTIONS FOR NEXT WEEK’S GAMES TO GAMECOCKSPORTS@GWM.SC.EDU. LAST WEEK’S RESULTS: Editor Adam Beam returned to his usual form and tied Van Haren for the overall lead. Beam sported a week-high seven wins. USC to face Mississippi teams ■ Womens soccer looks to break into SEC win column By MATT NAGY THE GAMECOCK ^ The slumping USC women’s soccer team will look for its first win in SEC play this week as the team hosts contests with Mississippi State and Mississippi. Carolina will face the Rebels on Friday evening and then wrap up the weekend against the Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon at Eugene E. Stone III Stadium. Both are SEC conference foes and will pose a tough test to the Gamecocks. Mississippi (6-8-0, 2-4-0 SEC) is coming off two-straight overtime losses, with the most recent coming at the hands of No. 23 Auburn. Rebel senior Karen Hall scored her seventh goal of the season in the loss and has proved to be dangerous for defenders » all season. Hall is tied for most goals on & the team with fellow senior Kristal w Menard, who also leads the team in points and is second on the team in assists with eight. The two seniors will pose a difficult challenge for a Gamecock defense that has been playing strongly, allowing only two goals last weekend in a loss to Kentucky and a draw against Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks must rely on senior Ashley Williams as well as Courtney Cobbs and Ashley Kirk in order to score more goals for the defense. As for the offense, it has scored one goal or less in its past four contests and has only scored more then three in two games this season. The team is 0-4-2 in the SEC thus far this season. The going does not get any easier Sunday as Carolina then faces a second team from the Magnolia State, the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are 5-6-2 on the season and ' III pidy. L/C5pilC U1C11 record, the Bulldogs have endured a tough schedule facing both Southern Cal and perennial national champions UNC. The Bulldogs have also had issues getting the bail in the back of the net and have only scored two goals or more five times this season. The Bulldogs, much like South Carolina, have relied on a plethora of players to score goals this season. Nine Bulldogs have scored this year for the team, and none have more than three goals. Strong goalkeeping has been a story this year for#MSU. Emily Meyers and Stephanie Dallas are averaging a combined 1.56 goals allowed per game. Carolina has also seen strong play from its two freshman keepers Laura Armstrong and Lindsay Thorstenson, whose combined goals allowed average stands at a respectable 1.70. The Gamecock defense continues to play strong in the back, and senior defender Sarah Lentz has also found time to score four goals this season. Carolina has been stellar at home this season, with only a single loss to last year’s SEC champion Tennessee. The team will look to capitalize on the home field advantage at the Graveyard, as the Gamecocks look for their first SEC win of the season. 1 lie <111 iet-uv.ua iidve udu uea niui Georgia and Vanderbilt but have dropped their other SEC games to Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee and, most recently, Kentucky. If the Gamecocks can score more easily this weekend, they will have a great chance to grab victories in both games. Williams has not scored a goal since conference play has begun, and her play is crucial this weekend in order for the Gamecocks to be successful. Game times are set for 7 p.m. Friday evening against Mississippi and 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon against the Bulldogs. Comments on this stony ? E-mail gamecocksports@givm.sc. edu Ford leads Gamecocks toward SEC West foes By MIQUEL JACOBS THE GAMECOCK The USC Volleyball team, returns to action fall break for a road trip to the state of Alabama. In two matches against SEC West rivals, Carolina will battle a strong Alabama team Friday at 7 p.m. and conclude the road trip with a Sunday match against the Auburn Tigers. Carolina (10-5, 3-3 SEC) is fresh off a weekend sweep against Mississippi State and Ole Miss in which USC head coach Kim Hudson praised her team for rebounding mentally after its first losing streak of the season. The Gamecocks will have a challenge ahead of them as they look to prove they are indeed back on track against an Alabama team that has rolled to a 13-4 start on the season. However, the Crimson Tide is in the midst of a midseason slump, losing their first home match of the season last Sunday to go along with three losses in their last four games. A trip to Auburn on Sunday at ■ 1:30 p.m. to finish off the weekend is an important match in a conference where road wins are important. The Tigers have struggled this season to reach a 6-8 record. With a four-game losing streak on their back, the Tigers are in need of a confidence booster to get through the conference better than last season’s 1-15 SEC record. A date with No. 17 Tennessee before taking on the Gamecocks might not be the ideal situation to allow Auburn to mentally prepare for Sunday’s match. In Carolina’s last two wins, the drive and determination of earlier in the season was present as the Gamecocks played as close to complete games as they could. Blocking and defense were key as Carolina out blocked Ole Miss 21-7 and edged Mississippi State in all major statistical categories, including keeping the Bulldogs to a season-low .073 kill percentage and no blocks for the entire match. Strong play by Lauren Ford, Iris Santos, Lynae Vanden / Hull and Lauren Ford was named the SEC’s defensive player of the week on Monday, a first this year for a Gamecock. Shonda Cole during the past week has been just what Carolina needed to get back on track. Ford was named the SEC’s defensive player of the week on Monday, a first this year for a Gamecock. Along with the increasing levels of comfort and playing time given to less experienced players, USC is starting to return to form as the tough SEC schedule continues. The next home match will feature the Georgia Bulldogs on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. before the Gamecocks host the defending SEC Champion, No. 10 Florida Gators. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu ■ Teach English in junior and senior high schools in Japan Learn about Japanese culture and people Gain international experience • Have an excellent command of the English language • Obtain a bachelor’s degree by July 1,2005 • Be a U.S. citizen r ' • Be willing to relocate to Japan for.one year Gamecocks Connection! Your source for Gamecocks news alerts right on your wireless phone! Get up-to-the-minute news about the Gamecocks, from the Gamecocks, on your wireless phone. Log on to www.vtext.com and select "Coaches Comer!" Subject to Customer Agreement and Calling Plan. $35 activation fee may apply. $175 early termination fee applies. Requires credit approval. Subject to taxes, charges and other restrictions. See verizonwireless.com/bestnetwork for network claim details. Digital phone required. Verizon Wireless post pay customers charged 20 per message received and 100 per message sent. 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