The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 17, 2004, Page 18, Image 18
Heart drives USC men’s soccer
to NCAA Tournament berth
By MATTHEW NAGY
THE GAMECOCK
As the USC men’s soccer team
gathered at Williams-Brice Stadium to
watch the NCAA selection show on
ESPN News, it was evident that heart is
what keeps the players together. Players
gathered around two televisions in the
Letterman’s Lounge to watch the
selections live, as a team.
Carolina has battled through
adversity and youth this year to get to
where it is, and the Gamecocks have
played together every step of the way.
“We have more heart, more
willingness to win (than past teams),”
junior captain Eric Szeszycki said.
Carolina will face the Cougars for the
second time this season after dropping
the first game Oct., 20 in Mount
Pleasant. The loss came at the tail end of
a three-game USC losing streak in the
middle of the season, and the players are
itching for a second chance.
“I’m actually glad that we are playing
College of Charleston in the first round,”
Szeszycki said. “It’s a chance for payback
time to avenge that 3-0 loss that we had.”
It will be a tough task for the youthful
Carolina team to defeat a senior-laden
Cougar squad. “Any time you face a
senior-oriented team, it’s a big difference
in experience and in their mentality and
their strength,” USC head coach Mark
Berson said, but the Gamecocks will
have the added advantage of playing
their first game under the lights at home
in Stone Stadium.
“Home-field advantage is enormous.
It’s going to be a great weekend,” Berson
said. “I hope we can have a great turnout
from our student population and the
university community, because that is
going to be a big factor in the game.”
Carolina is 10-9 all-time in home
KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK
USC goalkeeper Brad Guzan leaps for a save in a recent home game against the Duke Blue Devils.
matches in the NCAA tournament but
has lost its last four contests in
tournament play, including three at
Stone Stadium. The Gamecocks have
compiled an overall .792 winning
percentage in home contests and average
over three goals a game at home, but this
team rises to the occasion and has gotten
big wins this season.
The Gamecocks have gone 4-3 against
schools in the current tournament field.
One of those wins came against the No. 1
overall seed Wake Forest on Sept. 24 in
Winston-Salem, N.C.
“When you defeated the number one
team in the tournament at their place,
and with the other wins we’ve had this
year, it should give our young team
some confidence” Berson said.
USC has relied on plenty of youth
this season and only has four players on
the roster with NCAA Tournament
experience.
“We’ve had to rely on a lot of
sophomores and freshmen coming in
and they’ve done a really good job,”
junior Ryan Deter said. “The freshmen
. came in, and some of them come off the
bench and they’ve done a tremendous
job for us. I’m really pleased with their
performance this year.”
USC freshman Sebastian Lindholm
leads the team in goals with six and points
with 16, with three other newcomers
scoring points tor the team during the
season. Second-year players Mike
Sambursky, who leads the.team with six .
assists, and Ayo Akinsete have anchored
the front line for the Gamecocks.
The team will indeed face a tough
contest against the Cougars, but Berson
is confident in his young squad.
“We won’t back down from anybody
this year, and College of Charleston will
get our best shot Friday night,” he said.
Admission is $5 for students and $8
for the general public. Kickoff is 7 p.m.
on Friday at Stone Stadium.
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ga7necocksports@gw7fj.sc. edu
SUE OGROCKI/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Oklahoma wide receiver Mark Bradley, left, fights off a tackle
from Nebraska defender Daniel Bullocks in OU’s 30-3 win.
Sooners hold on
to BCS standing
By RALPH D. RUSSO
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Oklahoma remained second in the
Bowl Championship Series standings
Monday, holding off Auburn because
of a stronger computer ranking.
Southern California is still No. 1
with a grade of .9808. Oklahoma’s
grade is .9621, and Auburn’s is .9350.
Last week, the Sooners led the
Tigers by .0567. Oklahoma’s lead is
down to .0271.
The Tigers made up lots of ground
on the Sooners in the polls Sunday,
tying Oklahoma for second in The
Associated Press Top 25 and getting
within two points of No. 2 in the
coaches poll.
The polls each count for a third of
a BCS grade. A compilation of six
computer rankings make up the other
third, and according to the computers
Oklahoma is the best team in the
country.
USC’s is second in the computer
rankings, and Auburn is third.
The top two teams in the final BCS
standings, which will be released Dec.
5, play for the national title in the
Orange Bowl on Jan. 4.
The Trojans, Sooners and Tigers
are all 10-0.
Auburn surged on the heels of its
24-6 victory over SEC rival Georgia
on Saturday. Oklahoma beat
Nebraska 30-3, but appeared to be
hurt in the polls by recent dose calls
against Oklahoma State and Texas
A&M. The computers, however, have
been partial to the Sooners’ quality
wins away from home in the Big 12
and strength of schedule.
California (.8522) is fourth, Texas
(.8140) is fifth and Utah (.8062) is
back in the sixth spot, after slipping to
seventh last week.
The unbeaten Utes are trying to
become the first team from a mid
major conference to earn a BCS bid.
They can lock up a spot by finishing
in the top six. Utah is .0568 ahead of
seventh-place Michigan with a game
to play against Mountain West
Conference rival BYU on Saturday.
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. Well select
ONE person’s picks, at random, to be our Reader of the Week.
This week's games:
2 Auburn at Alabama
7 Michigan at Ohio State
9 Wisconsin at 17 Iowa
Florida at 10 Florida State
Arkansas at Mississippi State
North Carolina at Duke
18 Virginia at Georgia Tech
Michigan State at Penn State
Oregon at Oregon State
USC at Clemson
♦ FOR TIE-BREAKING PURPOSES, PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR SCORE FOR THE USC
CLEMSON GAME. AND DON’T FORGETYOUR NAME!
-
Orange makes me lose my lunch
■ Everything related to
Clemson makes me
want to throw up
Orange has got to be the ugliest
color there is. I cannot think of a
single orange object in existence that I
don’t at least have a mild distaste for.
To this day, I will not eat an orange
M&M. Those pylons you see around
construction work always bother me.
And don’t even get me started on
Cheetos. Sure, they taste good, but
when you’re finished, their orange
taint sticks to your fingers and your
teeth — not very attractive.
What about oranges? Sure, they’re
a great source of vitamin C, which
prevents nasty things like scurvy, but
other than that, they don’t really have
any redeeming qualities. I mean, if
they’re so great, couldn’t the guy who
named them think of anything better
to name them after than their color?
Of course, my hatred for Clemson
runs much deeper than that. I grew up
in Columbia, a Carolina fan through
thick and thin. I hated Clemson
before I knew how to tie my shoes.
I hated
Clemson so
much, in fact,
that I went to
school there my
freshman year. I
don’t really
know what I was
thinking —
JOEL maybe it was
..... . A/*[- SOITle 1(1110 01
WALLACE outreach thing.
FIFTH-YEAR 1 thought lf 1
PRINT could go there
JOURNALISM and explain to
STUDENT , r
people the
benefits of
converting to Carolinianity, they’d see
the light — you know, sell their
pickup trucks, quit dating their
cousins and learn the virtues of indoor
plumbing — but it jusf didn’t stick.
If you think I’m exaggerating, it’s
probably because I am. But there are
some things that are too strange to be
true. The dorm I lived in my freshman
year, Johnstone, was equipped with all
the amenities, including asbestos, and
even better, a gunrack. I don’t even
own a gun, let alone so many guns as
to necessitate an entire rack.
Having spent a year there, I now
feel more justified in my hatred for
Clemson. I don’t feei so bad when I
see a Clemsux shirt or when I call
them hillbillies. I mean, when I was
there, if I wanted Taco Bell, I’d have
to spend 15 minutes walking to my
car and another 20 minutes to drive
there.
Think about that. When was the
last time you can honestly say you
were more than 30 minutes away from
a Taco Bell? It would have been easier
for me to grab some cheese and soft
shells and kill the cow myself. They
have plenty of cows up there, so they
wouldn’t miss just one.
I went to the Carolina game up
there my freshman year, and I haven’t
been back since. I’ve never seen
80,000 people so proud of the fact
that they can spell the word Clemson.
I know they’re used to expressing
themselves monosyllabically, but
come on.
I’m going to enjoy the melee from
the comfort of my own home. I may
not have a gunrack, but I think I’ll get
by just fine.
ir NEVER forget the 63- 17(L) last year!
J* Let's RUIN CLEMSON'S Bowl Chances!
Show your Team Support
BY DISPLAYING SOLIDARITY!
GO COCKS! BEAT CLEMSON!!!!
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If you have any questions or comments
about the Sports section, please e-mail
Sports editor Jonathan Hillyard at
f ^S^^N^meC0C^S*)0rtS^Wm‘SC'eC*U'
Once in a Lifetime Opportunity
The Government of Japan Invites Young Graduates to
Spend a Year Teaching English in Japan
Now accepting applications for the 2005 Japan Exchange
and Teaching (JET) Program. Deadline is December 1,2004.
For more information contact the Consulate General of Japan
in Atlanta at www.japanatlanta.org or by phone at 404-240-4300.
All majors welcome to apply.
Must have a bachelor’s degree by July 1,2005.
Knowledge of Japanese NOT required.
Participants receive a substantial stipend, benefits and
free roundtrip airfare to Japan.
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