University of South Carolina Libraries
* GAME SCHEDULE 1i MEN’S SOCCER at Charleston, 6 p.m. Today ra&f 13 . ^ „ WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL vs. Georgia, 7 p.m. Friday Wednesday, October 20, 2004 WOMEN’S SOCCER at Arkansas, 8 p.m. Friday Cougars to test Carolina offense ■ Mens soccer team looks to rebound afier fall break losses to Charlotte, UNC By MATT NAGY THE GAMECOCK The USC men’s soccer team will face the College of Charleston on Wednesday night and is looking to rebound from a tough fall break tour of North Carolina. Coming off a big win against Clemson the previous Sunday, Carolina was held scoreless for the first time this season against Charlotte, 1-0. USC was also held out of the goal column against UNC, falling 2-0. “With this young team, we’ve got to learn to be ready to play under all circumstances, both physically and emotionally," said USC head coach Mark Berson, who is relying heavily on the play of sophomores and freshmen this season. UNC is a tough place to play, and Carolina is hoping things will go better Wednesday against a tough College of Charleston team that is 9-4 on the season and undefeated (4-0) in Southern Conference play. The Cougars will rely on senior Tony Myers to get the ball past Carolina keeper Brad Guzan. Myers leads the team with five goals on the year and has added two assists. The Cougars will also look to get a goal-scoring boost from the backline, as SoCon player of the week Matt Schindelholz has three goals on the season. The Cougars have not allowed many goals to be scored this season. Their goals-allowed average sits at a staunch 1.27 for the season. They have only allowed more than one goal scored in two contests on the year, and the going will be tough for a Carolina team that has only scored one goal in its last three contests. A healthy Ayo Akinsete should help the Gamecocks scoring against Charleston. The sophomore from London was injured early in the first half against Clemson and missed the following game against Charlotte. Akinsete, the team’s leading scorer a season ago, has tallied four goals this season and is again leading the team in that department. Along with Akinsete, forwards Mike Sambursky, Ryan Deter and freshman standout Sebastian Lindholm will look to add to their goal totals this season. Deter has scored three goals coming mosdy off the bench as a replacement for Sambursky, who along with Lindholm has scored twice this season. With these four forwards upfront, it should not be much trouble for Carolina to get back on the scoreboard against the Cougars. NICK ESARES/THE GAMECOCK Sophomore forward Michael Sambursky, right, battles a Clemson defender. The Gamecocks are looking to stop a two-game losing streak with a Charleston brawl. Carolina out-shot Charlotte and UNC in recent match-ups. The team “created a number of very good chances, and I thought we were unlucky not to get an equalizer” against the Tar Heels, Berson said. With a defense comprised of Greg Reece, Eric Szeszycki and standout Makan Hislop, the Gamecocks have allowed few goals to get past the backline. Ramon Paracat has been missing from the lineup since an injury forced him out of the contest against Clemson early, but the Carolina defense has stayed solid despite his absence. Whenever a ball gets past the backline, with Guzan there is by no 0 means a guaranteed goal. Guzan has made 62 saves this season. His save percentage stands at 83 percent, putting him in the top 25 of the nation. The sophomore from Illinois has an outstanding goals-allowed average of 1.06 and has had four shutouts on the year. * The game is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday night at Patriot’s Point in Mount Pleasant, where the Gamecock will look to continue their very solid 10 3-1 start of the year and gear toward another NCAA Tournament berth. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gw'm.sc. edit Boyd’s consistency bolsters offense ■ Running back has already doubled his catches from last season By STEPHEN FASTENAU STAFF WRITER USC head coach Lou Holtz has called him “a great football player.” He has mshed for 200 yards so far this season and has 23 catches for 222 yards. With Demetris Summers not meeting expectations from injury and other indiscernible factors, Cory Boyd has produced. The 6-foot-l-inch, 210-pound Boyd, other than the game against Ole Miss, has been a model of consistency for an offense that has shown many faces this season. When Summers went down with a high ankle sprain in the Gamecocks’ second game against Georgia, Boyd saw his role increase. At Vanderbilt in the season opener, Boyd had just four carries for 16 yards. Following the Georgia game, Boyd carried eight times for 46 yards against South Florida. The back then had a season-high 12 carries at Alabama for 51 yards — not amazing numbers but productive enough in at^ offense that runs with multiple backs. After a close loss to Mississippi, Holtz was adamant that Summers would get more carries against Kentucky, possibly 20-25. Holtz said Boyd, who had only one carry for 5 yards against Ole Miss, would also likely take a bigger role but noted his first priority was getting Summers the ball. Things did not go according to plan against the Wildcats. Summers fumbled twice and Gonzie Gray once, leaving Boyd as the only back Holtz trusted to hold on to the football. Summers finished as the team’s leading rusher, but Boyd added 10 carries for 51 yards and had four catches for an additional 54 yards. One of those receptions was for 13 yards on the Gamecocks’ winning drive. Boyd also ran four times for 26 yards on the drive, including a 14-yard explosion on fourth-and-1 that gave USC a first down near midfield. “He really steps up and plays and plays tough,” Holtz said. “He caught the ball and ran the ball and blocked, and he’s a heck of a competitor. Cory Boyd just stepped up. He’s a tough young man and a good player.” If Summers continues to have trouble holding on to the football, Boyd will likely be called upon as USC faces the “Orange Crush” portion of its schedule to close out the season. The Gamecocks take on Tennessee following their bye week, a team Summers lit up for 158 yards on 27 carries in a 23-20 loss in Knoxville last season. The question will be whether Holtz trusts Summers to limit his mistakes in a game with vast implications for USC. If not, Boyd should get a fair amount of carries. Last season, Boyd rushed for just 248 yards with 58 attempts, playing second fiddle to Summers’ breakout freshman season. Employing a running back-by-committee style this season, Holtz has passed out carries to five different backs, ensuring that no one back would stand out from the rest. If any have, though, it would be Boyd. While Summers is noted for his elusiveness and Gray for his speed, Boyd brings a complete package, a back who can pound through the line to pick up needed yardage or catch passes out of the backfield. When not used as a receiver, Boyd provides valuable pass blocking skills. Being used as a receiver is nothing new for Boyd. Last season, as a freshman, Boyd caught 11 passes for 145 yards. Just past the halfway point this season, Boyd has already doubled his catches and is well on his way to doubling his yards as well. Whether receiving, rushing, blocking or anything else, this Orange, N.J., native will continue to do everything he can to help the team win. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockspoits@gwm.sc. edu CHARLIE DAVENPORT/THE GAMECOCK Sophomore running back Cory Boyd runs through the Kentucky line Saturday in Lexington, Ky. Boyd was key in the Gamecocks' victory, running 14 yards on a fourth-and-1 inside USC’s territory. Carolina went on to win on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Michael Rathe to Troy Williamson. Brown garners second weekly honors of season For the second time this season, USC place kicker/punter Josh Brown is the SEC special teams’ player of the week. The junior kicker connected on his two field-goal attempts, including one from a career long 43 yards in the Gamecocks’ 12 7 win at Kentucky. Brown’s only punt of the game was a season • long 56 yards that pinned the Wildcats at their own 6-yard line. The SEC offensive player of the week is Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell, who completed 89.5 percent of his passes as Auburn defeated Arkansas 38-20. Campbell was 17-19 for a career-high 297 yards and three touchdowns. Tennessee defensive end Parys Haralson is the SEC defensive player of the week for his efforts against Ole Miss. Haralson had career h%hs of 10 tackles and five tackles for a loss in the Volunteers’ 21-7 win in Oxford. The junior also tied his career high of two sacks. Bama, Tennessee rivalry highlights week 8 Florida plays at Mississippi State for the first time since 2000 when the Bulldogs beat the Gators 47-35. This game might tell a different story with Florida coming in with a 4-2 record while State is just 1-5. Another 1-5 SEC team, Vanderbilt, hosts 3-3 Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels are riding a three-game winning streak while the Commodores are coming off a 33-3 loss at Georgia. The undefeated Auburn Tigers try to stay perfect against a Kentucky team that is 0-3 in the SEC. Auburn has yet to allow a rushing touchdown this season. Alabama plays hated rival Tennessee in Knoxville after knocking off then No.24 Southern Miss 27-3. Tennessee is ranked No. 11 and is 5-1 on the year. Georgia travels to Fayetteville to take on a dangerous Arkansas team. The Razorbacks are 3-3 on the year but have outscored their opponents 52-7 in the fourth quarter. LSU comes off its bye week to play Troy in Baton Rouge. Troy is 3-3 and 0-1 against SfcC teams this season. It’s time to recognize Gamecock heritage ■ Hall of fame would give long-overdue props to Carolina's best “Black Magic” has come to describe the Gamecocks’ new football uniforms and the lure of success meant to come with them. But this isn’t the first time Black Magic has been with the USC football program. In 1984, the Gamecock football team ALEX pulled off USC’s RILEY most successful season ever, FIRST-YEAR going 10-2 and PRINT earning a No. 2 JOURNALISM . . * , STUDENT rank ,n polls. The term had nothing to do with the uniforms — the team’s defense was termed the Fire Ants for its swarming tackling style and garnet jerseys. It was then-head coach Joe Morrison’s all-black attire that spawned the phrase. Too many students don’t know George Rogers won USC’s first and only Heisman or that Todd Ellis holds most of the passing records in the Carolina books. Sterling Sharpe had his number retired after playing for USC, and in 1946 the Gamecocks played in the inaugural Gator Bowl. It wasn’t until 1995 that USC got a bowl victory against West Virginia in the CarQuest Bowl. Legendary basketball coach Frank McGuire won his 500th game here, and NBA star Alex English broke all sorts of records on the Carolina hardwood. USC has finished second three times in the College World Series and is shooting for a fourth-straight appearance. Knowledge of things like this is commonplace at schools from Southern Cal to Florida State. But at USC they aren’t out there to be seen. Treatment of our teams’ accomplishments is shocking. Would you believe that the three runner-up trophies from the College World Series sit in the locker room and have water damage from where the ceiling leaks? USC enshrined George Rogers’ locker after his amazing success at USC only to take it down later. When Bob Fulton, the original voice of the Gamecocks, retired in 1995, the university tossed him a plaque at halftime of the Tennessee game and sent him on his way. Clemson ukuikaiku ail kiiuik uamuiiv. ouutv iu him, including gifts, speeches and a victory lap around the stadium. USC doesn’t remember its past. Generations of fans come through the university and never truly understand they are a piece of something bigger. USC is on its way to a capturing its 500th victory as a football program and could pull off the feat with a win over any of its last four opponents. There’s no better time than now to remember the heroes who got us here. Kentucky and Clemson have “Rings of Honor” around their football stadium to honor legends and legendary games. Kentucky has a basketball hall of feme, while Alabama has a football hall of fame that features coaching legend Bear Bryant’s office just as he left it upon his departure. Alabama’s hall of fame was featured on ESPN during the USC/Alabama game. Clemson is working on constructing an athletic hall of fame on its campus that would be open to fans before home games. USC also has an athletic hall of fame, only it’s in the back of the school’s media guide. So what’s the hold up? Well, there are two ways to look at it — the fens’ view ana me amietic aepartment s view. For fens, an athletic hall of fame would be a great way to connect to USC’s past and see where we have come from. When students graduate and come back, they might see someone or a big play that happened while they were here and reminisce on their time at Carolina. In reality, it’s the athletic department’s view that counts. USC Athletic Director Mike McGee, who’s in Duke’s hall of fame, knows how they work. President Andrew Sorensen also knows how athletic halls of fame work it* ♦ Please see RILEY, page 14