The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 12, 2004, Page 9, Image 9
| NICK ESARES/THE GAMECOCK
Freshman midfielder Ramon Paracat, right, dribbles the ball against a Duke defender earlier this season. Paracat and USC will play
their final home game of the season Sunday when they take on the Florida International Golden Panthers, a future Conference USA foe.
Men s soccer to play home hnale
By MATTHEW NAGY
THE GAMECOCK
The USC men’s soccer team will
face No. 21 Florida International
University in its final regular-season
match Sunday at Eugene E. Stone III
Stadium. The Gamecocks enter the
contest at 11-6-1 and are likely to be
selected for the NCAA Tournament.
| The Golden Panthers (10-5-0, 4
’ 0-0 ASC) are riding a three-game
shutout streak heading into their
weekend contests against Hartwick
and USC. F1U has won four games in
a row and seven of its last eight games.
Led by senior Fernando Plentz and
junior Carron Williams, the Golden
Panthers are looking for a strong
finish in their final season in the
Atlantic Soccer Conference. FIU,
along with Kentucky and USC, will
join Conference USA in the 2005
season.
Williams and Plentz have been solid
for the Golden Panthers, each scoring
six goals coming into this weekend’s
games. FIU will also look to junior
Lucas Scudeler, who has three goals
and a team-leading five assists.
Sophomore David Hope will also be in
the scoring mix at forward as he is third
on the team with five goals this year.
FIU will face a USC defense that has
been solid all year long. Led by
sophomore Makan Hislop and juniors
Greg Reece and Eric Szeszycki, the
Gamecock defense has been superb for
most of the season. Spectacular
goalkeeping by sophomore Brad Guzan
has allowed the Gamecocks to stay in
every game. Guzan has had five
shutouts on the season, and the defense
has only allowed three goals or more to
be scored twice this year.
Offensively, the Gamecocks will
look to sophomores Ayo Akinsete and
Mike Sambursky. The duo has
combined for seven goals and seven
assists this season. Akinsete, who led
the team in scoring a year ago, has
continued to play well for Carolina and
will look to grab another goal against
FIU to tie him for the team lead with
freshman Sebastian Lindholm.
Lindholm, who has five goals this
season, has played strong throughout
his first college soccer campaign.
The Gamecocks, who were ranked
as high as seventh in the nation
midway through the season, have
struggled to regain their early-season
form. Carolina is only 3-5 since the
team’s landmark victory against
Clemson on Oct. 10. USC’s offense
has been shut out in three of those
games, but the team still managed to
get a big shutout win against Duke
during the stretch.
With a win, the Gamecocks can
position themselves nicely for an
NCAA Tournament berth, their fourth
in five years. The Gamecocks have
beaten three top-20 opponents this
season — Portland, Wake Forest and
Duke. With a win against FIU, it
would be tough for the selection
committee to turn down the
independent Gamecocks. Carolina
would be making its eighth tournament
appearance in 10 years, although the
Gamecocks have not made it past the
second round since reaching the
toiirnamenr finals and losing to
Virginia for the National
Championship in 1993.
The Gamecocks have never lost a
match against Florida International in
their five all-time match-ups. Carolina
has won four and tied one.
The game is set to begin at 1 p.m. at
Stone Stadium. Admission is free for
students and faculty members.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu
Washington,
UNLV await
basketball’s
young squad
By AARON KIDD
THE GAMECOCK
The Gamecocks open the 2004-05
regular season Sunday against
Washington in the first round of the
WBCA/BTI Classic at Bank of America
Arena in Seattle.
Minnesota, a 2003-04 NCAA
semifinalist, will join USC,
Washington and UNLV in the two-day
event. The Gamecocks will not be
facing the Golden Gophers on the
court, but will take on UNLV Monday
at 8 p.m.
After an embarrassing record of 1-13
in the SEC and winning only 10 Qut of
28 games overall last year, the
Gamecocks must feel relieved to have
the slate wiped clean for a fresh start this
season.
But they’ll have a long way to go in
their opener against the Washington
Huskies, who dominated in their first
exhibition game against Baden Sports,
winning 86-49. Four Huskies scored in
double digits, including notable junior
Kayla Burt, a 5-foot-11-inch guard who
scored 13 points in her first game since
suffering from cardiac arrest late last
year.
The Huskies proved to be even more
t-lltt-UVt 111 lll^ll SCI.U11U tAlUUlUUU gdllic
last Monday versus Vanguard University,
slaughtering the 2004 NAIA
Tournament quarterfinalists, 83-34.
UNLV won’t prove to be a cakewalk
for the Gamecocks, either. Picked to
finish first this year in the Mountain
West Conference and boasting a 26-8
record last season, the Lady Rebels
mopped the floor with the West Coast
All-Stars during a Nov. 5 exhibition
game. Even without golden senior
forward Sherry McCracklin, who is on
the bench for two months after suffering
an ankle injury, UNLV won 93-70.
Eighty of those points were scored in the
final 30 minutes.
Plunging straight into the regular
reason against such tough opponents
with no exhibition games on the
schedule should be an eye-opening
experience for a young USC team.
USC head coach Susan Walvius
begins her seventh season in charge of
the Gamecocks. She enjoyed top-20
national finishes at USC in 2001-02 and
2002-03, but injuries and rebuilding
caused the team to plummet to the
bottom of the SEC. The Gamecocks’
performance against two top-notch
teams like Washington and UNLV in
the WBCA/BTI Classic should be
indicative of what fans can expea in the
months ahead.
Despite being picked to finish last in
the SEC Media Poll and the absence of
any seniors on the roster, talent and
ability are not lacking on the roster.
Five-foot-10-inch Sarah Burgess, a
guard from Brook Park, Ohio, and one
of only two juniors on the team, racked
up 17 points in last year’s season opener
against Clemson. The other junior, 6
foot-4-inch Olga Gritsaeva from St.
Petersburg, Russia, scored 20 points and
14 rebounds in the same game and
conjured up four double-doubles to cap
off the year.
Iva Sliskovic, a 6-foot-5-inch
sophomore from Zagreb, Croatia, led
the team last year with 7.1 rebounds per
game and 11.0 points per game overall.
In the summer, Sliskovic played for
Croatia in the FIBA European
riiamninnchmc ilr,nI KP
teammate Lea Fabbri, a 5-foot-7-inch
sophomore guard from New Zagreb,
Croatia. Sliskovic managed 18 points
and eight rebounds against the
tournament’s defending champion, the
Czech Republic, and Fabbri dished out
an impressive 17 points against France.
New blood on the roster includes 6
foot-6-inch freshman center Ilona
Burgrova from the Czech Republic.
Burgrova played for the Basketball
Travelers exhibition team and scored 14
points in a win over Mississippi while
she was still a high school sophomore.
She also led the Czech Republic team to
a third-place finish at the FIBA
European Championships this summer
where she averaged 10.8 points and 7.8
rebounds per game.
The Gamecocks will look to use team
chemistry, learning from past mistakes
and new talent to boost to a more
respectable ranking this season.
Tip-off is at 6 p.m. Eastern time.
Comments on this story? E-mail
go7necocksports@gwm.sc.edu
■ WHITESIDE
Continued from page 8
same this week to gain an advantage in a
> hostile environment.
' “When we seem to function the best
is when we throw caution to the wind,”
Holtz said. “We throw caution to the
wind and open the sucker up.”
Holtz said that his strategy coming
into the season was to rely on defense
and a heavy dose of the running game.
An injury to Demetris Summers and the
emergence of multiple receivers forced
Holtz to change his game plan.
“When we seem to
function the best is
when we throw
caution to the wind.”
LOU HOLTZ
USC HEAD COACH
“Going into this year, that wasn’t
the way we wanted to play (to throw
the ball),” Holtz said. “But the
development of the receivers has
allowed us to change that as we’ve gone
along.”
BRIEFS
Coaches name Guzar
as trophy semifinalist
The National Soccer Coache
Association of America named USC
sophomore Brad Guzan as one of 1!
)semifinalists for the Missouri Athleti
Club Hermann Trophy. The trophy i
given to college soccer’s national player o
the year. Guzan, a Homer Glen, 111.
native, is the only goalkeeper and*one o
only two underclassmen named to th<
list.
“We’re very pleased and proud fo
Brad to be nominated for this award ant
to be considered in such an elite group o
the top talent in the country,” USC heac
coach Mark Berson said. “He belongs ir
that class as a player and as a person. He i:
certainly an excellent representative o
our soccer program both on and off th<
field.”
Since arriving at USC in 2003, Guzan
has started every match at goalkeeper. As
a team captain this year, he has helped
guide the Gamecocks to an 11-6-1 record
and five shutouts. Guzan has played
1,640 minutes in goal and has.a- 1.26
goals-against average and 94 saves this
> season. Guzan owns a .803 save
! percentage and ranks in the top 20
• nationally in saves per match.
Hamilton, Thompson
lead golf at tournament
The USC men’s golf team finished
13th overall • at the Carpet Capital
Collegiate Tournament in Dalton, Ga.,
on Sunday. The Gamecocks shot a
season-low 288 and finished 43-up.
Georgia won the tournament, finishing
15-up.
Seniors Alex Hamilton (77-72-75)
and Jake Thompson (80-72-72) finished
the weekend tied for 22nd. Robert
Svensson (81-78-69) had his best round
of the year, 69, and finished tied for 46th.
^Avw.daily&amecock.com
LAn- . _
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Another factor that might increase
the role of Whiteside and other
receivers is quarterback Syvelle
Newton, who will not be at full
strength as he recovers from an ankle
injury. Newton, normally dangerous as
a runner, will likely stay in the pocket •
longer and check down his various
receivers.
Quarterbacks coach Skip Holtz said
Wednesday that Newton had been
limping some in practice but should be
close to 100 percent Saturday.
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GAMECOCK CHALLENGE
THE CHALLENGE: Every week, Jonathan Adam David Wes Steven Albert
The Gamecock’s readers and Hillyard Beam Stagg Wolfe Van Haren Sadowski
staff test their sports knowledge Sports Editor Design Viewpoints Copy Reader of
with game predictions. editor in chief director editor editor the week
^ _ (62-34) (63-33) (67-29) (57-39) (69-27) (60-36)
12 FSU at NC StateFSUFSUFSU FSUFSUFSU
21 BC at 10 West Virginia WVU WVU_WVU BC WVU WVU
19 Iowa at MinnesotaIowaUMIowa Iowa Iowa UM
4 Wisconsin at Michigan State MSU_Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin
CPAnrwIn itO A,.k,,rn A . . U._ A . . U__ O_I „ A..U._ A . . __
w wi. w » tukyui i i i i i nuuui i i vjoui nuuui i i nui-/ui i i
17 Miami at 11 Virginia Virginia Virginia Miami Virginia Miami Virginia
25 Tex. Tech at 23 Tex. A&M A&M TTU_TTU TTU A&M A&M
Alabama at 15 LSU_LSU_Bama_LSU_Bama_LSU_LSU
North Carolina at Wake Forest UNC_Wake_Wake Wake Wake Wake
USC at Florida USC USC Florida USC USC Florida
28-24 35-31 35-28 9-6 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: Section editors Hillyard and
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\
Come join the Office of Community Service
Programs in celebrating the life of the late
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
by participating in the largest community service
event at USC!
What? 8th Annual MLK Day of Service
When? Monday, January 17, 2005
lime: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm meet in the RHUU
How? Registration is November lst-30th in the
Office of Community Service Programs located
in Russell House Suite 227V, or online at
www.sa.sc.edu/ocsp
"MAKE IT A DAY ON NOT A DAY OFF!"
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