The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 22, 2004, Page 9, Image 9
NICK ESARES/THE GAMECOCK
Freshman midfielder Ramon Paracat, right, fights off a Clemson
defender earlier this season. Paracat and the Gamecocks will try to
avoid their fourth straight loss Saturday against UNC-Wilmington.
Guzan ys 13 saves
can yt put soccer
past Charleston
■ Gamecocks head
to Wilmington after
three straight losses
By BRIAN DAVIS
THE GAMECOCK
The No. 15 men’s soccer team
suffered its third-straight shutout
Wednesday night to the College of
Charleston. The game winner was scored
at the 15:07 mark by College of
Charleston senior midfielder and
Columbia native Troy Lesesne.
Just 15* minutes later, Cougar
sophomore striker Jeremy Gold
extended the lead with an assist to fellow
midfielder, senior George Grygar, on a
goal in the 31st minute.
The Gamecocks’ inability to score has
plagued them in their past three matches,
including two in which they out-shot the
opposing team. Unfortunately, the
Gamecocks were unable to do this
against the Cougars as they were out
shot 26-15.
The game was put out of reach in the
80th minute when Lesesne assisted on a
nnai goal by senior striker 1 ony Myers.
With the loss, the Gamecocks drop to
8-4-1 on the season while the Cougars
extend their five-game win streak and go
to 10-4-0 on the season.
“The first half was great soccer. The
second half we had some lapses, but
overall, this was a great performance,”
College of Charleston head coach Ralph
Lundy said.
More than 1,600 fans were in
attendance for the home team’s victory at
Patriot’s Point in Mount Pleasant.
On a positive note, USC sophomore
goalkeeper Brad Guzan broke a personal
record, tallying 13 saves in the game.
This weekend the Gamecocks will
match up on the road with University of
North Carolina-Wilmington. The
Gamecocks will close their three-game
road swing against the Seahawks, while
the Seahawks will be looking to close
their three-game home stand at 2-1.
The Seahawks split the first two home
games of the stretch with a strong
second-half performance to beat Drexel
and a loss against Hofstra.
The Seahawks came out of the second
half against a struggling Drexel in a 0-0
tie and scored three second-half goals to
clinch the victory. Drexel fell to 3-8-0
with the loss and 0-3-0 in the Colonial
Athletic Association.
The Seahawks then suffered their
third CAA loss against Hofstra. After
trailing 1-0 at halftime, the Seahawks
tied it up only to allow two more quick
goals, falling behind 3-1. Despite
slimming the lead to 3-2 with under 10
minutes remaining in regulation,
UNCW was unable to gain an equalizer.
The Seahawks have had several
scoring threats with three players leading
with four goals, as well as three players
with three goals. The Seahawks have had
substantial advantages over their
opponents in corner-kick opportunities
as well* as shots this season. But the
Seahawks’ 210 penalties, 51 more than
their opponents, has been a definite
downside. Additionally they trail their
opponents in saves by six.
Defense will be a major key in this
game as botn teams lead tbeir opponents
in shots through the season. Fortunately,
the Gamecocks have more saves than
their opponents this season, in large part
because of Guzan’s astounding play. He
has four shutouts on the season and saves
more than 80 percent of the shots he
faces.
Headed into Saturday, the Seahawks
now stand at 9-4-1 and could use a
major morale boost in a competitive
match-up with the Gamecocks. The
kickoff for the match-up is set for 7 p.m.
Saturday.
The Gamecocks will look to break
their minor losing streak Saturday night
before returning home to face a
formidable Furman team Wednesday. A
match-up with fellow national
heavyweight Duke will take place at
Eugene E. Stone III Stadium at 2 p.m.
on Halloween.
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gamecockspmrs@giym.sc. edu
USC faces must-win match-ups
By MIQUELJACOBS
THE GAMECOCK
The struggling USC women’s soccer
team (6-9-2, 0-6-2 SEC) has reached a
point in its season that it probably
hoped would be in November rather
than October: do-or-die soccer. With
three games- remaining and no
conference wins, the Gamecocks are on
the outside of the SEC Tournament
with a sweep the only possible way that
Carolina can claim a spot. Arkansas and
LSU are up first for the Gamecocks this
weekend in the final stretch of the
season.
Friday night’s match-up with the
Lady Razorbacks of Arkansas will be the
first test as Carolina travels for its final
away game of the season. Arkansas (6
8-2, 2-4-2 SEC) is also searching for a
crucial conference victory as the
Razorbacks are 10th in the SEC
standings, two spots shy of making the
tournament. USC will look for history
to be on its side as the Gamecocks lead
the overall series 3-2, including a 2-1
edge in Fayetteville.
Leading the young Lady Kazorbacks
team are Sarah Gwisdala and Christina
Burger. Tied for the team lead in
points at 12, the players rank seventh
and 10th, respectfully, in the
conference in goals per game.
Gwisdala, a freshman defender, has
been a boost to the program and could
finish the season as the first freshman
to lead Arkansas in points since 1993.
She has been slowed this past week by
an ankle injury, however, as was
evident by her going scoreless last
weekend. Burger, a sophomore
midfielder, has been tapped as the heir
apparent to be the all-time leading
scorer at Arkansas. With defenses
zoning in on Gwisdala and junior
Megan McCool, Burger, the team’s
leading returning scorer from last
season, might indeed finish out the
season on a roll. It will be up to
Carolina defenders Sarah Lentz, Jackie
Welch and Kimmy Gillespie to control
the balanced attack of the Lady ‘Backs
and control the tempo of the game.
Should USC return home with its
tournament chances still alive, a home
date against SEC West rival LSU
should be an easier task. LSU, like
Carolina, is at the bottom of its
division with a record of 6-9-1 and 1
6-1 in the SEC. Given the manner in
which Carolina has battled many other
teams in the conference, USC head
coach Shelley Smith said she is hopeful
that USC can get over the hurdle of
not just having a great game but also a
win.
“We’ve been playing well. I don’t
know how the team will respond from
the close losses,” Smith said. “We’ve
played well at home, and it’s important
for us to take advantage of that. All the
teams we are playing are trying to get
into the SEC Tournament like we are.”
With LSU also in a bind trying to
sneak into- the SEC Tournament,
Sunday’s match could end up being one
of the most emotional of the season
should both teams win their respective
games Friday. In the midst of the
longest winless streak in school history,
the Gamecocks have not posted a win
since Sept: 9 against Charlotte. The
streak spans eight games, all conference
matches. Fortunately, the Gamecocks
also hold the series edge against LSU 3
1-1, including a 2-0 victory in 2002,
the best season under Smith.
Despite individual successes, the
Tigers have struggled this season with
only one conference victory. Senior
forward Artie Brown ranks at the top of
every offensive category in the SEC,
including being second in points (1.19
per game), second in goals (0.56 per
game), and fifth in shots (2.69 per
game).
Teammate Stacy Bishop, a
sophomore forward, is also at the top of
the lists as she ranks first in shots (4.81),
fifth in points (1.06) and sixth in assists
(0.31). Carolina’s defense will again be
tested as they attempt to limit the
chances given to these two players who
have the ability to change a game.
The offensive spark that was
prevalent in last weeks match with
Mississippi State will again be needed
for USC as they take on the fourth
ranked goalkeeper in the conference —
freshman Valerie Vogler, who sports a
.807 save percentage.
Gamecock senior Ashley Williams,
who recently moved to number seven
on USC’s all-time scoring list, will be
relied upon to lead the offense. Senior
defender Lentz, number 13 on the all
time scoring list, should also be a key
factor in the crucial conference
matches. Should either game be
decided on a game-winning goal by
Lentz, she would become USC’s all
time leader at six game-winning goals.
The action is set for 8 p.m. for
Friday’s game at Arkansas and will
conclude with a 1 p.m. match Sunday
against LSU at Eugene E. Stone III
Stadium. The Gamecocks’ season finale
will be at home next week against the
Florida Gators.
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gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu
‘ SARAH ZILINSKY/THE GAMECOCK
Freshman midfielder Erin Sullivan, right, dribbles in last weekend’s game against Mississippi State.
USC will look for its first conference win this weekend as the Gamecocks take on Arkansas and LSU.
I GAMECOCK CHALLENGE
THE CHALLENGE: Every week, ~] Jonathan Adam David Wes Steven Marcus
The Gamecock’s readers and Hillyard Beam stagg Wolfe VanHaren Ebelhar
staff test their sports knowledge sPorts Editor Desi8n Viewpoints Copy Reader of
with oamp nrpHirtinrv; editor in chief director editor editor the week
| with game predictions. (43,23) (48_18) (47.19) (38-28) (48-18) (41-25)
Colorado at 17 Texas A&M A&M_Colorado A&M_Colorado A&M A&M
Bos. College at 24 Notre Dame NDND ND BC ND ND
13 Michigan at 12 Purdue Purdue Purdue _ Purdue Michigan Purdue Purdue
Alabama at 11 Tennessee Tenn.Tenn.Tenn. Alabama TennTenn.
10 Georgia at Arkansas_Georgia Georgia Georgia Georgia Georgia Georgia
25 Iowa at Penn State_Iowa_Penn State Iowa_Iowa_Iowa , Iowa
BYU at Air ForceAir Force BYU BYU BYU BYU ~ BYU
Eastern Kentucky at Vanderbilt Vandy Vandy Vandy Vandy Vandy Vandy
Nebraska at Kansas State KSU KSUKSU KSU KSU KSU
Maryland at Clemson Maryland Maryland Maryland Maryland Maryland Maryland
17-10 42-3 28-13 24-10 21-7 21-14
WANT TO BE READER OF THE WEEK? E-MAIL SELECTIONS FOR NEXT WEEK’S GAMES TO
GAMECOCKSPORTS@GWM.SC.EDU. LAST WEEK’S RESULTS: Design director David Stagg is
just one game behind first place after a 9-1 week, two games better than his closest competitors.
■ SERIES
Continued from page 8
his ankle. This man risked his career for
his teammates, and he pitched a one
run masterpiece in the process.
Outside of Schilling, you have to
root for the rest of this Red Sox team.
You have guys like Johnny Damon,
Boston’s version of Gamecock Jesus,
who came through when his team
needed him most. You have guys like
Kevin Millar, who is the epitome of a
goofball and obviously loves playing
baseball more than anything in this
world. By the way, has there been
another player in recent memory as
clutch as David Ortiz?
At the same time you almost feel
sorry for some members of the
Yankees’ squad. Derek Jeter, who plays
harder than any baseball player you’ll
ever see, probably deserves better.
Mariano Rivera is probably the best
closer in baseball history. Kenny
Lofton is still looking for his first
World Series ring. But you have to
wonder what Yankee owner George
Steinbrenner is thinking right now. ‘I
wonder if Randy Johnson is available?’
‘How much am 1 going to have to pay
We are the lucky
ones, my friends. We
true sports fans will
never forget this
series.
for Carlos Beltran?* He’s probably
leaning back in his multi-million dollar
recliner, wondering whom to fire for
this one, the biggest collapse in sports
history.
But let’s not fool ourselves — the
Red Sox won this one. And we are the
lucky ones, my friends. We true sports
fans will nqvef forget this series. This
truly is, in my mind, one of the most
remarkable accomplishments in sports
history, if not the most remarkable. It
just wouldn’t have been right if it was
the Tampa Bay Devil Rays coming
back to beat the Colorado Rockies
after being down 3-0. It was just
perfect. Who do we have to thank
though? George Steinbrenner, that’s
who. So George, you got what you
wanted, the best team in history, on
paper. Now they will sit at home,
waiting on your pink slip. It’s a
magnificent story. I can’t wait to buy
the movie.
If you have any
questions or
comments
about the
Sports section,
please e-mail
gamecockspoits
@gwm.sc.edu
A J.'iA 1
DIERKS
BENTLEY