The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 29, 2004, Page 9, Image 9
•Women’s soccer aims
for SEC tournament
By JIM ROCHE
THE GAMECOCK
The USC women’s soccer team’s
final regular-season game tonight
against Florida will be an important
one. The Gamecocks must win to
secure an SEC Tournament berth, and
Georgia and Kentucky must lose.
The No. 18 Florida Gators come to
Columbia at 12-3-3 and 6-2-2 in the
SEC after beating Arkansas 2-1 An
Sunday in Gainesville.
Senior Ashley Kellgren scored her
sixth goal of the season early in the
second half to give the Gators a 1-0
lead.
Florida scored again off a header by
Cherry Pickman, her Second goal of
the season, to put the Gators up 2-0.
The Razorbacks cut the Gators’ lead in
half at 7(>:56, but it wasn’t enough to
knock off the No. 18 ranked Gators,
who have yyon five of their last seven
games.
Several Florida players could give
USC problems. Senior Stephanie
Freeman leads tfie Gators in goals with
13 and points with 29, five of which
were game winners.
Florida goalkeeper Jen Gardner
has been sharp all year, giving up just
six goals and recording 25 saves.
Kellgren leads the Gators in assists
with eight.
South Carolina (8-9-2, 2-6-2 SEC)
says goodbye to its seniors tonight.
Today is Senior Day, when USC
honors, among others, its outstanding
senior trio of Ashley Gosnell, Sarah
Lentz and Ashley Williams.
Lentz has started all 19 games this
year, recording six goals, three of which
were game winners. Williams leads the
team in goals with seven, and Gosnell
has played in 66 career matches.
Gosnell was USC’s leading scorer her
freshman year.
Friday’s game is a must-win if the
Gamecocks want to continue playing
for the final seed in the SEC
Tournament in Auburn next week.
“We have a lot to play for on
Friday,” USC head coach Shelley
Smith said. “The fact that we still have
a chance to earn a spot in the SEC
Tournament after all that we have been
through this year says a lot. There have
been other games this year in which we
were more deserving to win but it
didn’t happen. The players have
worked fyard, and to play a ranked
team like Florida at home, the last
home game for the seniors, I’m hoping
we can finish the season off with a
win.” • , , |
South Carolina beat'Florida 1-0 in
Columbia ‘on ^Sept. 29, 2002, in
overtime: Ashley Williams launched a
10-yard shot past Kellgren for the
game winner.
Last year, Florida beat USC 2-0 in *
Gainesville. Florida’s Robin Fulton
had one goal and one assist in the
Gator win.
The Gamecocks will Jbok fbr,
another crucial win tonight, one that ;
would cap off a season-ending three
game winning streak, to possibly g^t
USC, into the postseason. The action*
starts at 7 p.m.^at Eugene E..Stone III
Stadium. Tonight is Family Night,' i
and all kids; 13 and younger gef in
free. ’
% * . 1 * ♦ “ V .
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* i * *•4" i , s* *
1 GAMECOCK CHALLENGE
THE CHALLENGE: Every week, Jonathan Adam David Wes Steven Aisha
The Gamecock’s readers and Hillyard Beam Stagg Wolfe Van Haren Haynes
staff test their sports knowledge Sports Editor Design Viewpoints Copy Reader of
with nroHintinnc editor in chief director editor editor the week
witn game predictions. (49.27) (53.23) (54-22) ,(45-31) (55-21) (48-28) '
2 Oklahoma at 20 Oklahoma St. Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma
Florida vs. 10 Georgia_Florida Florida_Georgia Florida Georgia Florida
20 Arizona St. at 7 California California California California California California California
Penn State at Ohio StateOhio State Ohio State Ohio State Ohio State Ohio State Ohio State
Kentucky at M ississi ppi St. MSUKentucky MSU Kentucky MSU MSU
Duke at Wake ForestWFU WFU_WFU WFU WFU WFU
NC State at ClemsonNC State NC State NC State NC State Clemson Clemson
Missouri at NebraskaMissouri Missouri Missouri Missouri Nebraska Nebraska
Texas Tech at Kansas State Texas Tech KSUTexas Tech Texas Tech KSU KSU
11 Tennessee at USC USC USC Tennessee USC USC USC
^ 27-24 14-7 10-7 56-0 21-7 24-17
WANT TO BE READER OF THE WEEK? E-MAIL SELECTIONS FOR NEXT WEEK’S GAMES TO
GAMECOCKSPORTS@GWM.SC.EDU. LAST WEEK’S RESULTS: Stagg, Wolfe, Van Haren and
the reader had a four-way tie, all with 7-3 records. Van Haren holds a tenuous one-game lead.
Volleyball team
to face Wildcats
By MEGAN GIBSON
and MIQUELJACOBS
THE GAMECOCK
• While the Red Sox were busy breaking
he curse Wednesday night, the women’s
volleyball team was battling the No. 16
Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville. The
Gamecocks fell to UT in four games, (30
28, 26-30, 23-30, 24-30) but not before
winning their first game of the season
against a ranked team. USC fell to 11-9
overall and 4-7 in the SEC and will face
the Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday.
I thought we gave a much better
effort tonight despite the outcome,” USC
head coach Kim Hudson said. “Our
competitive mentality was much better
than how it has been recently.
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to come
out with a win.”
Trailing by three at 25-28, junior
Sarah Morgan scored back-to-back kills
to bring the Gamecocks within one. An
unforced error by Tennessee tied up the
score at 28-28, giving USC the
opportunity to take the lead. The
'^kamecocks took full advantage of the
^^hance when Morgan scored another kill
to give them the 29-28 lead. Middle
blocker Lauren Ford finished the game
on a kill to give USC its first win of the
season against a ranked team.
In game two, Tennessee evened the
match 1-1 in a close battle. A late surge
brought USC within two points at 26-28
n a Ford service ace. However, UT
emtehed the final two points when setter
Julie Knytych scored a kill and a ball
handling error was called on the
Gamecocks.
In the third game, the Gamecocks
stuck with UT and were within two at
10-12. The Volunteers then went on a 6
0 run, and USC was never able to make
up the deficit. Tennessee hit a match
high .422 kill percentage with 23 kills
only four errors. By the end of game
three, the Vols had four players in double
figures and one player, Yuliya Stoyanova,
with a match-high 17 kills. The Vols also
held USC to zero blocks. The game went
to Tennessee with a score of23-30.
The Gamecocks had the lead 8-7 in
the beginning of the final game. UT was
able to catch up a few points later and tie
15-15. The two teams fought back and
forth, tying the score three more times. A
Volunteer error put USC within two at
24-26. However, Tennessee scored four
straight kills to win the game 24-30 and
wi the match three games to .me.
Junior Nicole Miller had a career-high
21 digs and 12 kills, while Morgan led
the team with 15 kills.
Hoping to avenge a close loss earlier in
the season, the USC volleyball team will
return to action Sunday against the
Kentucky Wildcats. The Wildcats edged
the Gamecocks 3-2 in Columbia on Oct.
1, and the Gamecocks look to even the
score with a rematch in Lexington.
With five games remaining in the
season, Carolina is in the middle of the
pack, holding a record of 11-9 and 4-7 in
the conference. However, the Gamecocks
have yet to record a divisional win, going
0-5 this season against SEC East teams.
Kentucky is last in the conference with a
mark of 11-10 and 2-8 in conference
play. The Wildcats’ last victory over USC
was their first since the 1999 season.
Kentucky will be celebrating Senior
Day, honoring seniors Katie Bright and
Sarah Spinner in the final home game of
their careers. Bright has not seen action
this season after a career filled with
shoulder injuries. Fortunately, Spinner
has been a dominating player for the
Wildcats this year. The senior outside
hitter ranks fifth in the conference at 3.96
kills per game. However, in her last
appearance against South Carolina, the
Gamecocks were able to contain her,
allowing only 11 points to Spinner, her
second-lowest total of the season for a
-L
Despite the defensive success against
Spinner, the Gamecocks dropped the
close match because of the play of Jenni
Casper, Danielle Wallace, Leigh Marcum
and Ki Eveland. Casper, the conference
leader in digs per game at 4.57, recorded
her best outing of the season against the
Gamecocks, registering her only kill of
the season as well as her season high in
digs with 30. Wallace, seventh in the
conference in kills per game at 3 94, also
recorded her best overall outing against
the Gamecocks. Marcum and Eveland
rank third and fifth in assists per game
with 12.59 and 11.69 marks, respectively.
USC head coach Kim Hudson said
she hopes this Kentucky match-up will
play out differently than the last one.
Before the last match, the Gamecocks
were rebounding from a Wednesday
night loss to the Lady Vols and did
not recover in time for the Kentucky
match.
Sunday’s game is set for 1:30 p.m. at
Kentucky. USC’s next home match is
Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. against the LSU Tigers.
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■ CUSA
Continued from page 8
Miami.
USC, UK and FIU will join current
members East Carolina, UAB and
Memphis in the new look Conference
USA. These six schopls will be joined by
Marshall, SMU, Tulsa and Central
Florida; schppls that will become full
members of the conference.
The CUSA soccer conference should
1 be one of the most competitive in die
nation as nine of the ten schools that will
be members currently have ginning
records. SMU is currently ranked third,
current members Memphis and UAB are
b.oth currently ranked in the nation’s top
•20, while CJSC, EIU:and Tulsa have all
been ranked at one point or'another this
. season. ■»
The ten schools will play aatine-game
round robin during die season. The setup
•fer a conference tournament has not yet
been decided, but a postseason
tournament is likely.
“Conference USA has a very strong
reputation nationally in men’s soccer,”
South Carolina senior associate athletic
director and senior woman administrator
.Val Sfieley said'. “We believe this i
affiliation will not only strengthen our
program but it will strengthen their '
league as well. It will provide additional
opportunity for national exposure as well
as great competition.*’
K'' Vv~ V '■
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BRIEFS
, •?* »A,' -t ' ; *
Tennis tournament
to host 16 schools
The USC wojnen’s tennis team
beginning -today hosts the Southern
Intercollegiate Tennis Tournament.
The tournament will have seven
flights each in singles and doubles.
Consolation matches will ensure each
player at least three matches inff ingles and
doubles.
The tournament will field players from
16 schools, including USC.
Women will play on the Maxcy Gregg
I Tennis Courts on Blossom Street, men will
play on the Sam Daniels Tennis Courts by
the baseball stadium, and the Columbia
Tennis Center on Pickens Street will host
men and women. The tournament will
begin at 8:30 a.m. today and will conclude
with the finals on Sunday.
“Well, we just have
to continue to work.
At this point in the
season, we know '<
what we do well.”
MARK BERSON
USC.HEAD 9bCtfE8 COACH
t * * y . ® #"*
.--t
matches, most recently to Virginia 3-2
in overtime they began the &ason with
11^ straight \frins, including a defeat
over th^rt -No. 1 Maryland. The,Blue
Devils are a major threat and will be led
by senior striker1 Nigi Adogwa, a native
of Trinjtfad, aSAvell as Danny Kramer,
a junior midfielder.
“WeH, we just have to continue to
work. At this point in the season, we
know what we do well,” Berson said
about bouncing back to face tough
opposition.
The Gamecocks’ sophomore
goalkeeper Brad Guzan had eight saves
in the contest. After their match-up
Sunday at 2 p.m. with Duke, the
Gamecocks will travel to Charleston
next weekend for the Charleston
Tournament. The -action will begin
Nov. 5 at 5 p.m. against Coastal
Carolina and will continue Nov. 7 at
2:30 p.m. against Alabama A&M.
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first half, the Gamecocks out-shot the
Paladins 12,-4 but were stopped each
time. In particular, , ohe-pn-one
situations with junior striker Ryan
Deter and sophomore forward Ayo
Akinsete gave the • Gamecocks
opportunities ‘to build a lead, but they
failed tp convert. Carolina was called
for thtee offsides penalties in the match
to the Paladins’ zero. One was critical
when defender Josh Alcala was inside
the 6-yard box and was unable to finish
a scoring opportunity, due to the call
Carolina will ne$t match-up with
the, Duke University Blue* Devils on
Sunday at Stprie Stadium, The^Bhie
Devils are 13-3-0 on the season and
will seiVe as a major test for*, the
Gamecocks.. Although the Blue Devils
have lost throe out of their last five
win.
Comer kicks w^re a major factor as
the Gamecocks earned five and the
Paladins tallied nine. Unfortunately,
the Gamecocks were unable tq
capitalize on an early Raman Paracat
corner kick that w£s placed flawlessly
into the box but was not converted.
Another missed opportunity, took place
15 fninutes mtd the game ofFa corner
kick by Sebastian Lindhokn.
Midfielder Eric Szeszycld kicked the
ball past Paladin goalkeeper Alex
Maslow, but a Paladin defender saved
it at the last minute. On the other side,
Bell was able to take advantage of a
perfect opportunity in the 58th minute
of the contest.
“Well you know it’s important to
put them away. We had a lot of good
opportunities, and we didn’t put them
away. They stuck a corner in, and that
changed the game,” USC head coach
Mark Berson said..
For the game, the Gamecocks out
shot the Paladins 22-15. More
importantly, only seven Gamecock
shots were on goal to the Paladins’ 10.
However, corner kicks were not the
Gamecocks’ only opportunity. In the
■ Mens soccer loses
four of its lastfive
Paladin match-ups
By BRIAN DAVIS
THE GAMECOCK ‘ >
THS4 No. 25 USC men’s soccer team
suffered a 1-0 loss to the Furman
Paladins Wednesda/ night at Eugene
E. StQne III Stadium. The; loss was the
Gamecocks’ fourth in five games as the
,end of the regular season nears.
The game winner and lone goal of
the, contest was scored off a cwner kick
by junior midfielder Josh Villalobos.
Villalobos crossed it into the box, and
freshman defender Brian Bell headed it
in. k
The Paladins were major underdogs
in the contest as they were oft a four
game losing' streak heading into the
game. *
Additionally, the' Paladins’ record
stands at .only 5-8-1 overall with the
Furman defense
snuffs Carolina
r~~”i