The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 25, 2004, Page 10, Image 10
GAME SCHEDULE!
MEN’S SOCCER vs. Furman, 7 p.m. Wednesday
^age 10 WOMEN’S SOCCER vs. Florida, 7 p.m. Friday
Monday, October 25, 2004 VOLLEYBALL at Tennessee, 7 p.m. Wednesday
. FILE PHOTO BY CHARLIE DAVENPORTFTHE GAMECOCK
Quarterback Mike Rathe, the hero of the Kentucky game, went
four of seven for 61 yards and two touchdowns Saturday during
the Gamecocks’ 31-17 win against Georgia Military.
Quarterbacks shine in JV game
■ Rathe, Mitchell
lead USC to victory
over Georgia Military
By STEPHEN FASTENAU
STAFF WRITER
With first and second-string
quarterbacks Dondrial Pinkins and
Syvelle Newton nursing injuries this
week, Blake Mitchell and Michael Rathe
were able to get some additional
experience Sunday in the form of a
junior varsity game with Georgia
Military Junior College.
Quarterbacks coach Skip Holtz said
he was thankful for the opportunity.
“They need as many reps as they can
get right now,” Holtz said. “I have to get
two quarterbacks ready to play so this
open date was really needed.”
Mitchell tossed a 63-yard touchdown
pass to redshirt freshman D’Von Hill for
one of his two completions. Rathe
started the game and threw two
touchdown passes to David Smith as
USC rolled to a 31-17 win. Lesser
known quarterback Brett Nichols also
contributed. The redshirt sophomore
played the entire second half and scored
on a 16-yard touchdown run with 3:08
remaining in the game.
The young Gamecocks were stingy
on defense. Georgia Military scored two
touchdowns, both as a result of fumbled
punts deep in USC territory. The lone
field goal converted by the Bulldogs
came only after a 15-yard penalty for a
late hit gave Georgia Military sufficient
field position.
Redshirt freshman David Laggis led
the team with seven tackles and a forced
fumble. Curtis Rice, also a redshirt
freshman, recorded five tackles and
returned a fumble 20 yards. Brain
“They need as many
reps as they can get
right now.”
SKIP HOLTZ
QUARTERBACK COACH
Arnold came up with the game’s only
interception to stall a Bulldog drive at
the USC’s 22.
Along with being on the field with
the kick-off unit, 39-year-old freshman
Tim Frisby was also utilized in three
wide receiver sets. Frisby had little
impact on the game, having one
Mitchell pass thrown too far behind him
to catch and getting leveled before being
past the line of scrimmage on another
route.
With 12:20 remaining in the game,
Frisby caught his first pass as a Gamecock
♦ Please see JV, page 11
Carolina snaps 8-game losing streak
By MIQUELJACOBS
THE GAMECOCK
The winless streak is over as the USC
women’s soccer team posted back-to-back
wins this weekend to pick up its first
conference victories. With the SEC
tournament just one game away, each
team is fighting for wins and Carolina’s
wins over Arkansas and LSU move them
two steps closer to stealing a spot.
Carolina traveled to Fayetteville on
Friday night to compete against the
Lady’Backs. USC took the immediate
advantage on a rebound goal by Ashley
Kirk at 20:13, the first of her career. It
proved to be the deciding point as
Carolina took the match 1-0. The win
snapped Carolina’s school-record eight
game losing streak and was freshman
goalkeeper Lindsey Thorstenson’s second
career shutout.
Carolina dominated the tempo of the
game, out-shooting Arkansas 12-9,
including a 7-3 advantage in the first half.
With Gamecock seniors Sarah Lentz and
Ashley Williams neutralized at one shot
apiece, Kirk was the main offensive force
for Carolina in a game that featured messy
play and messy weather.
Following the 1-0 loss to Carolina,
Arkansas has a 2-6-2 conference record,
which ties USC for 10th in the SEC. In
order for either team to be considered for
the eighth and final seed, either team must
win its final game on Friday as well as hope
for a Kentucky loss to a talented
Vanderbilt team. If that happens, USC
will hold the tie-breaker over Arkansas and
make the tournament.
The Gamecocks again faced a major
test as they faced an LSU team that has
two of the top scorers and one of the best
goalkeepers in the conference. Two of the
three players showed up true to form as
LSU freshman goalkeeper Valerie Vogler
recorded eight saves on 14 shots and
sophomore Stacy Bishop recorded the
only goal for the Bayou Bengals.
This game was similar to the rest of the
season for the Gamecocks as they
dominated the ball early in the game.
However, one costly mistake at 11:22 led
to a penalty kick by Bishop from about 8
yards from the goal, too short to allow
USC goalkeeper Laura Armstrong to
record the save. The rest of the half saw
many Gamecock opportunities but rarely
any shots. The result was a halftime deficit
of 1-0 and a banged up team from the
physical play of LSU.
“That’s LSU’s style of play,” head
coach Shelley Smith said of the physical
match and the short-term injuries to
Carolina players Jessi Swaim, Kali
Neumann and Courtney Cobbs. “They
always have someone on you and like to
get physical.”
The emotional match must have given
the Gamecocks extra adrenaline as they
attacked LSU quickly in the second half,
firing off four shots in goal in a three
minute span. However, Vogler was able to
clear the ball from Tiger territory. A
corner kick at 53:18 by Kirk turned the
tables as the ball went right to Lentz, who
headed it in for her sixth goal of the
season.
After numerous perceived miscalls, the
Carolina fans began to speak up,
motivating the team. A cross from
Williams, saved by Vogler, at 81:45
rebounded 5 yards out to the feet of an
LSU defender and Cobbs. Using a spin
move, Cobbs was able to get by the
defender and blast it past the goalkeeper to
give Carolina the 2-1 lead with under 10
minutes to play. The goal was the second
on the year for Cobbs.
The Bayou Bengals threatened a few
times before Bishop split the USC defense
with a pass to Brown with four minutes to
play. A miscommunication gave Brown
the open shot on goal that sailed past
Armstrong for the tying goal. However, an
oflside penalty nullified the goal and
Carolina held on to win the match 2-1.
Afterward, Smith had good things to say
about her team’s performance.
» “I thought our team played very well.
We never let down and did a good job in
the second half to control the match and
possess the ball. Amanda Thurber
controlled the game very well and Kimmy
Gillespie played a great game for us. We
played our game and did what we had to
do. I was proud of the team’s
performance.”
Up next for the Gamecocks is the
season finale as they take on No. 25
Florida Gators at home. The game begins
at 7 p.m. on Friday with Carolina’s
tournament hopes still alive. The Gators
bring their 12-3-3 record into Stone
Stadium as Carolina acknowledges their
three seniors on Senior Night.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu
FILE PHOTO BY NICK ESARES/THE GAMECOCK
Freshman forward Sebastian Lindholm attempts to keep pace with
a dlemson defender. Lindholm already ha$ three goals this season.
SARAH ZINLINSKY/THE GAMECOCK
Freshman midfielder Ashley Kirk, right, scored the first goal of her career Friday night in
Fayetteville against the Lady ‘Backs. Kirk’s goal was the lone score in USC’s 1-0 victory.
Unexpected heroes lead USC
■ Mens soccer breaks
four-game winless
streak over weekend
By MATTHEW NAGY
THE GAMECOCK
A three-goal outburst led the USC
men’s soccer team to its first victory in
their last four games, as they defeated
UNC Wilmington on Saturday
afternoon in North Carolina. The
Gamecocks got on the scoreboard for
the first time since a win against
Clemson two weeks ago.
Sebastian Lindholm scored the first
goal for the Gamecocks in the 42nd
minute to give Carolina a one-goal lead
and momentum heading into halftime
against the Seahawks. Lindholm’s third
goal of the season came on a 2-1
breakaway opportunity with sophomore
Mike Sambursky. Sambursky struck a
quick crossover to the freshman from
Sweden and wasted no time in giving
the Gamec$ks the 1-0 lead.
Carolina’s next two goals would
come at the feet of Wilmington’s
mistakes. In the 60th minute a poor
clearance by a Seahawk defender landed
at the feet of sophomore striker Ayo
Akinsete, who then made a quick pass to
fullback Greg Reece. Reece had no
trouble capitalizing on a rare goal
scoring opportunity and suddenly
Carolina had a two-goal lead. The goal is
Reece’s second of the season and third of
his career.
Less than 10 minutes later, another
Gamecock defender got into the goal
scoring action when a handball inside of
the 18-yard box led to a penalty kick for
Carolina. Captain Eric Szeszycki took
the penalty kick for Carolina, and made
the Gamecock lead three goals with just
22 minutes left in the contest.
Brad Guzan and USC were unable to
hold the shutout as Seahawk defender
Russell Bienias scored on a late header to
make the score 3-1 with just over five
minutes left to play. Despite the goal, it
was an important victory for Carolina as
the win snapped a three-game losing
streak.
“We haven’t had things go our way
the last couple games, but tonight the
hard work paid off,” USC head coach
Mark Berson said after the Gamecocks
were shut out in their last three games,
all on the road.
“I’m very proud of our team tonight;
they stuck to their guns after suffering
some setbacks and have continued to
believe in themselves. We got a hard
fought win tonight on the road against a
good team.”
The Gamecocks are trying to prevent
a late-season slide that has affected the
team in recent years, keeping the team
from an NCAA tournament appearance
last season. In 2002 the Gamecocks
started the year 7-0-1, but went on to
finish the year at 11-8-1. The
Gamecocks lost eight of their final 12
games that season and saw an early exit
in the NCAA Tournament.
In 2003, the Gamecocks again
started the season with seven-game
winning streak, but faltered after that
point. Their struggles started with a five
game losing streak, and that l^d to the
Gamecocks finishing their year losing
seven of their last 11, winning only
twice. They finished 9-7-2 and missed
the NCAA Tournament for the first
time in three years. The team has failed
to make it past the second round of play
since reaching the finals in 1993.
With the win, USC’s record on the
year jumps to 9-4-1 and the team could
be on its way back to the NCAA
Tournament thanks to big wins coming
against ranked teams such as Portland
and Wake Forest. The key to finishing
strong this year will be winning games I
on the road, as the team has not had a
winning road record since 2001.
Carolina has five games left this
season, and wjth three of them coming
at home, the team is looking to reverse
the trend of the past two years and finish
strong. Carolina comes home to Eugene
Stone III Stadium to face Furman
Wednesday night and then follows that
game up with a Halloween contest
against Duke on Sunday.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu
Tennessee
has secret
weapon in
QB Cooter
■ Jim Bob should be
USC’s main concern
against the Volunteers
I am cautiously optimistic about our
game with Tennessee this weekend. I
think we have a very good chance of
winning, but Tennessee is dangerous.
Really dangerous. In fact, they have
something that no other team in the
nation has.
He is a
weapon so secret
and yet so
dangerous that
he is only
allowed to play
in special
situations. I may
JAKE
BROOM
SECOND-YEAR
POLITICAL
SCIENCE
STUDENT
be arrested tor |
revealing this
secret, but 1
think it is time
the student body
here at USC
knows about
him.
Ladies and gentlemen, theyve got
Cooter.
That’s right, Jim Bob Cooter. For
those of you oblivious to the football
player that is “The Cooter,” let me give
you a little background. Jim Bob
Cooter is a backup quarterback for the
University of Tennessee football team.
And by backup, I mean backup. Way
back.
He has climbed to as high as
second on the depth chart but now is
some-whete ,
around fourth
or fifth. I know
that the one
word that
comes to your
mind when you
hear a name like
Jim Bob Cooter
is probably
“redneck,” but
when I hear Jim C(K)ter
Bob Cooter I
only think of
one thing —
brilliance.
Even Tennessee head coach Phillip
Fulmer appreciates the spectacular
athletic ability, superior football IQ and
general excellence processed by Cooter.
In a preseason interview, Fulmer said
Cooter “doesn’t have a great arm, but
he’s a very smart player. At some point I
think he can be a factor.”
Be a factor? Jim Bob Cooter is more
than just a factor. You can’t have a
name like Jim Bob Cooter and be just a
factor. Names like that are reserved for
greatness.
I don’t know much about Cooter’s
past, but it could have gone something
like this: The legend of JBC began in
late summer of ‘87. Cooter was
vacationing with his family at Disney
World and noticed a roller coaster
about to fly off of its track. Without
hesitation Cooter scaled the track and
single-handedly stopped the coaster
before any harm was caused.
A few years later a grizzly bear
escaped from the Knoxville Zoo and
♦ Please see BROOM, page 11
I