The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 03, 2004, Page 11, Image 11
CHARLIE DAVENPORT/THE GAMECOCK
Senior forward Ashley Williams, center, battles Florida defenders in overtime of Friday’s game. USC
battled the Gators throughout the game but could not extend its season, losing 2-1 in double OT.
Soccer starts with bark,
finishes with whimper
■ 4-1 start, win over
Clemson overshadowed
by conference struggles
By STEPHANIE PENDRYS
THE GAMECOCK
The USC women’s soccer team’s
season has been one bumpy ride.
The Gamecocks began the season
with high expectations that stemmed
from the stellar incoming freshman class
that would be donning the garnet and
white. Soccer Buzz Magazine ranked
Carolina’s recruiting class fourth out of
50 schools in the Southeast region.
The Gamecocks were expected to be
competitive in the SEC and had goals to
reach the SEC and, quite possibly,
NCAA tournaments. The journey began
smoothly in August with a 1 -0 win over
Georgia State, and the road ahead
seemed to be relatively bump-free as the
Gamecocks traveled to the Virginia
Tournament with a 4-1 record.
USC continued to cruise as it picked
up a pair of victories against Charlotte
and Clemson, and USC senior Sarah
Lentz was named SEC defensive player
of the week after tallying game-winning
goals against Clemson and Charlotte.
But the road changed when' the
Gamecocks traveled through SEC
country and their conference schedule.
The road became tumultuous as USC
was derailed and lost batdes to Tigers,
Wildcats and two breeds of Bulldogs.
The games were fist-clenching
heartbreakers to players and USC fans
along for the ride. USC suffered 1-0
losses to Auburn, Kentucky and
Mississippi, and a 3-2 overtime loss to
Mississippi State.
The Gamecocks, with a 0-5-2
conference record in late October, found
themselves in danger of being on the
outside looking in at the SEC
Tournament. USC needed to sweep its
final three SEC games and get a little
help from other teams in the conference
to clinch the eighth and final seed in the
tournament.
The Gamecocks steered out of the
dark tunnel that was the basement of the
SEC standings by taming the Arkansas
Razorbacks and the LSU Tigers to break
twice into the SEC win column. USC
found itself in a clearing, with the SEC
Tournament not that far off in the
distance. But the road to the promised
land went past a swamp that was
inhabited by some hungry Florida
Gators.
In USC’s regular season finale against
Florida, the Gators bit first with a
Stephanie Freeman goal. Freeman
controlled a well-placed cross by Ashley
Kellgren and shot the ball out of the
reach of USC freshman goalkeeper
Lindsay Thorstenson. Carolina was not
intimidated by the Gators and tied the
game in the 49th minute with a scoring
drive that began with a cross by Amanda
Thurber. The ball was collected by
freshman Courtney Cobbs, and she shot
a missile past Florida net minder Jen
Gardner to even the score.
USC finished regulation play with a
13-8 shot advantage. The overtime
minutes looked like more of a ping-pong
match as the ball bounced back and
forth across the halves and left
Gamecock fans cheering with their
hearts in their throats. In the 105th
minute, Gator KeLeigh Hudson found
the back of the USC net from a cross by
Cherry Pickman to win the game.
USC’s ride was cut short, and the
Gamecocks finished 8-10-2 overall and
2-7-2 SEC.
Auburn has been selected as the
replacement site for the 2004 SEC
Tournament, which will be played Nov.
4, 5 and 7. The original site was in
Orange Beach, Ala. First round match
ups are as follows: (2) Auburn vs. (7) Ole
Miss; (3) Florida vs. (6) Alabama; (1)
Tennessee vs. (8) Kentucky; and (4)
Vanderbilt vs. (5) Mississippi State.
Tennessee has clinched its second
straight SEC championship. SEC
Eastern Division teams posted a 17-13-6
record versus SEC Western Division
squads this season. The winner of the
three-day event receives an automatic bid
to the NCAA Tournament.
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■ CLEMSON
Continued from page 10
hearing, they’re like 1-37 this season,
aren’t they? We should beat them
without breaking a sweat.
Not quite.
After starting the year 1-4, Clemson
has won three games in a row to even
out its record at 4-4.
They’ve managed to overcome like
a billion interceptions from Heisman
Trophy-candidate-turned-human
turnover Charlie Whitehurst by
playing great defense, and they have
actually won a few games.
Their next two are about as easy to
predict as the sunrise. They play
Miami one week after the Hurricanes
lost, and Miami does not lose two
games in a row. Ever.
Then there’s ACC (basketball)
powerhouse Duke, and Duke does not
win football games. Ever.
Savor that one Tiger fans, because
once basketball season starts, you’ll
have no such luck.
So the Tigers, barring a catastrophe,
will be 5-5 heading into the Carolina
game. And the Gamecocks, barring a
miracle, will also be 5-5.
A pair of teams who hate the ever
loving crap out of each other fighting
for their football lives and quite
possibly their coaches’ jobs in a game
that was already the most important
one of the season before it ever started
— how scary would that be?
- Jg —g---1 ■' V: ...4
Interested in taking The Gamecock Challenge?
If you can beat the editors, you’ll win a free Gamecock T-shirt. Send your
picks to gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu by 2 p.m. Thursday. We’ll select
ONE person’s picks, at random, to be our Reader of the Week.
This week’s games:
2 Oklahoma at 22 Texas A&M
Minnesota at 4 Wisconsin
Notre Dame at Tennessee
Maryland at 13 Virginia
Purdue at 20 Iowa
19 Oklahoma State at 7 Texas
Clemson at 10 Miami
Georgia Tech at NC State
Kansas State at Missouri
Arkansas at South Carolina
♦ FOR TIE-BREAKING PURPOSES, PLEASE'lNCLUDE YOUR SCORE FOR THE USC
ARKANSAS GAME. AND DON’T FORGET YOUR NAME!
BRIEFS
Golfers represent
respective countries
USC junior golfer Eirik Johansen
and former Gamecock golfer Martin
Rominger participated in the World
Amateur Team Championship this past
weekend at the Rio Mar Country Club
in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.
Rominger’s Switzerland team
finished fourth, while Johansen’s
Norway team finished tied for 34th
place.
Rominger shot an even-par 72 in the
first round, 3-up in the second round
and 2-under in the third and final
round. The fourth round of the
tournament was canceled because of
inclement weather. His teammates
Nicolas Sulzer and Roger Furrer shot 7
under and par, respectively, to lead
their team to a score of 422, tying
Canada and Italy.
Johansen shot 4-over par in the first
round and even par the last two
rounds to finish the tournament at 4
over par. Overall the Norwegians shot
148, 145 and 151 for a 444
tournament score.
Johansen has been an All-American
^selection the past two years. Last year,
he won the Palmetto Intercollegiate
along with five other top 10 finishes. As
a senior last year, Rominger had the
lowest stroke average (72.54) on the
team and also marked four top-10 and
six top-20 finishes. He was also a two
time All-SEC selection.
Gamecock runners
finish 11th in meet
The USC cross country team
participated in the 14th annual SEC
Cross Country Championships
Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark. The
Gamecocks finished 11th, just eight
points behind Alabama.
Senior captain Jenny Lake led the
way for USC by placing 23rd overall
with a time of 21:59 in the 6K race.
Also finishing were Amy Wike (22:48),
Rebecca Chain (23:58) and Caitlin
McGroety (24:30), along with
sophomores Karen Wigal (23:31),
Tristan Rackow (24:08) and Shay
Shelton (25:12).
The tournament was the closest in
SEC history with the Tennessee Lady
Vols edging Arkansas by just two points
to successfully defend last year’s SEC
championship.
Tennis dominates
home tournament
The USC women’s tennis team
combined to win six championships at
the Southern Intercollegiate
Tournament Sunday. The Gamecocks
woii four singles championships and
two in doubles action.
In singles, Laura Ganzer won the A2
flight with a 6-2, 6-2 win while
Miranda Gutierrez won the B1 flight 6
0, 6-0. Seniors Magda Wojdylo and
Audrey George claimed the B2 and C2
flights with two set victories.
In doubles, Gutierrez teamed up
with Fallon Koon to win the A2
doubles draw while Ganzer and Megan
McGavock won the other USC doubles
championship.
The Gamecocks will be back on the
court next weekend in Peachtree City,
Ga., for the 2004 SEC Fall Coaches
Classic.
KAPPA KAPPA GAMMA'S
4TH ANNUAL-KAPPA KICKOFF
Flag Football Competition & Battle of the Bands
$3 Tickets will be sold in advance on Greene St. November I-5th
Or purchase them at the gate! Free Food, tons of music & prizes!
Nov. 7 Competition from 10am~6pm at Davis Field
Money to benefit READING IF FUNDIMENTAI Program
& Queen for a Day.
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