University of South Carolina Libraries
TH#%AMECOCK SPORTS Page 8 B B —S Monday, Aug. 29,2005 , FOOTBALL Katie Kirkland/ n\i, GAMECOCK USC coach Steve Spurrier smiles during a press conference earlier this fall. Spurrier his team open the season Thursday. Spurrier: ‘They can play a lot better than they think they can’ Or ball coach, Gamecocks gear up to face Central Florida on Thursday night in season opener IDichael Finnegan FOR THE GAMECOCK now only three days from kickoff, USC coach Steve Spurrier says the national spotlight the Gamecocks find themselves in is nice, but premature. Expectations among Carolina faithful are high, but Spurrier is not bragging about the team quite yet. “I don’t like to compliment any of our team too much yet because we haven’t played a game,” Spurrier said to the media Sunday. “We’re still a bunch of guys that all you picked 4-7.” While not at an elite level yet, Spurrier thinks his team has the potential to be successful. “They can play a lot better than they think they can,” Spurrier said. “They are content with not being quite as good as they should be. That is our job as coaches to push them to reach their potential. And I think we do have potentially excellent passers and receivers here. “ Spurrier’s track record should help the young Gamecocks build confidence. In the past three seasons, the Gamecocks played all three SEC East powerhouses close, but have an overall 0-9 record in those contests. Also, during the last three years, Carolina has been ranked in the top 25 at one point in the season, only to sputter at the end, winning only one game in November the last three years. This year, Spurrier said he hopes the team’s conditioning will help that. “I think we will look like a team that has worked hard in the weight room and has done a lot of running,” Spurrier said. “I hope that we will play with discipline.” Looking at national media predictions in 2005, one wouldn’t realize how impressive Spurrier’s credentials actually are. Spurrier is undefeated in the state of South Carolina since 1989. Also, Spurrier has compiled a 11-1 record against Georgia and 9-5 against Tennessee. “He is a proven winner,” senior linebacker Orus Lambert said. “He has a lot to prove, and the team feeds into that.” The players have also marveled at how hands-on Spurrier has been with his team. Senior tackle Na’Shan Goddard said Spurrier even eats with the bunch, frequently critiquing their food choices. “I used to eat bad, but I eat healthily now. I had all brown on my plate. He was like, ‘you need to get color on there, get color on your plate.’ So from now, we get color on our plate.” Spurrier also emphasized that the Thursday tradition of players receiving cakes and cookies from fans will not be continued. NOTES: — Spurrier said senior receiver Kris Clark will start Thursday alongside Syvelle Newton. He added that junior wideout Noah Whiteside will play, but might not be 100 percent after breaking his ankle in the Garnet and Black game. — Injury update: Freshman receiver Sidney Rice is still unable to catch with a broken finger. His status for Thursday is yet to be determined. Freshman linebacker Dakota Walker will miss the game with a knee infection. Freshman O.J. Murdock has not practiced for the last couple days with an illness, but Spurrier said he should be able to play. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu Don’t forget to name your fantasy team With less than two weeks before the NFL season starts, your fantasy football team is almost ready to start. Often overlooked, naming your team is an integral part of any fantasy football league. There are a few simple rules that you should follow when naming your team. Under no circumstances should your team name include your first or last name, e.g. Henry’s Hammers or Tommy’s Rampage (Henry would get some points for the alliteration). When naming your fantasy team, you should also stay away from naming them after your favorite pro or collegiate team. Teams named Cowboy” or Tar Heels just won’t cut it. Another important rule to know is that there is a fine line that you should not cross when it comes to sexual references and team names. R. Kelly Preschoolers is an acceptable name, but Manitoba ************* would be crossing the line (so far across the line, they can’t even run it in this newspaper); be careful if you choose to go this route. The most important part about naming your team is to be creative and original. The Manchester Dogs Bollox will have a better chance of winning a fantasy game than Sammy’s Slammers just based on creativity of team name alone. Keep the name short. Brandon if y0ur name extends IlCluton further than the section Fourth-year for your name allows, it is too long. A good name should be three words or less and no more than 20 letters. Playing fantasy football and naming your team should be a fun activity, so follow these simple rules, and you’ll be on your way to a successful and fun season. Another important part of your season is deciding which league to join. There are many choices in this category, including Yahoo, CBS, ESPN, etc. For you beginners who have never played before or will forget you even have a team after the first four weeks, you might want to stick with the non-paying Yahoo leagues. The ESPN and CBS leagues are for moderate-level people. If you want to keep track of your team, ESPN, which is free this year, might be the way to go. Yahoo has a $25/team fantasy football league, but if you want to spend your money on fantasy football, I would suggest another site. The Sporting News Web site has “ultimate salary cap fantasy football” where you have to pay anywhere from $25 to $125 just to get a team in the league. These leagues are only for the fantasy football enthusiast who spends a great portion of his (or her, though that’s doubtful) life analyzing football stats in front of a computer. With your health in mind, I would not suggest any college student get into these leagues. So join a league, pick a team name and have at it. SOCCER USC conquers Chants in second-half rebound Carolina’s returning scoring threats capitalize in come-from-behind exhibition victory Brian Dauis FOR THE GAMECOCK USC’s men’s soccer team overcame a 1-0 halftime defecit in an exhibition match against Coastal Carolina Saturday night and, led by experienced junior Ayo Akinsete and midfielder Ramon Paracat, went on to take the contest, 2-1. Akinsete put in the equalizer in the 58th minute of the contest. Receiving a pass from junior transfer Rob Charest, Akinsete drew the Coastal goalkeeper to the right side of the 18 yard box, then lobbed the ball over him and into the goal. The goal was an early sign of Akinsete’s ability to manipulate a defense, as he was a main scoring threat for the Gamecocks in his first two seasons. “On the night, Ayo was very good,” USC coach Mark Berson said. “He turned their defense a number of times and created a lot of good opportunities.” Forty-five yards out, sophomore midfielder Ramon Paracat crossed the ball over the Coastal Carolina goalie, giving USC the lead in the 65th minute. “You know Ray just saw an opportunity from long range and took it,” Berson said. “That was really the end of that story.” ^ | After a slightly sluggish first half, USC players attacked relendessly in the second, particularly Charest, a University of Massachusetts transfer. Challenging opponents on headers, accelerating to beat a player to a loose ball and sending confident passes, Charest controlled the midfield much of the game. After losing goalkeeper Brad Guzan to Chivas USA of Major League Soccer, USC freshman Mike Gustavson was solid in his second performance. Although perplexed during Coastals lone goal, Gustavson rebounded to make several difficult saves, guided the defense and exhibited length on his punts. < | “Every half I think Mike gets better and better,” Berson said. “Clearly in the second half he made some very good saves. He controlled the tempo back there, and I thought he did very well.” Indecision and minor mental errors by freshman defender Kyle Franklin were evened in the play by well-tenured defenders Makan Hislop, Greg Reece and Josh Alcala as USC held Coastal in check for most of the contest. mcn«9 Juan Bias/THE GAMECOCK . Senior defender Josh Alcala, left, tries to hold off a Coastal Carolina player. Womens soccer showcases firepower in first match Mixture of youth, experience lifts team to 7-0 victory Friday night at Stone Stadium Savi Smith FOR THE GAMECOCK It went exactly the way a home game season opener is supposed to. On Friday night, USC’s women’s soccer team pulled off a 7-0 victory against Mercer to kick off its 2005 season. USC set the pace not even three minutes into the game when junior forward M.A. Foster scored at the 2:29 mark with assists from teammates Jessi Swaim and Courtney Cobbs. Swaim, Monica Hogan and Felicia Schroeder each added a goal in the first half to give USC a commanding 4-0 lead at the end of the first half. “•We definitely tried to stay focused and come out really hard in the second half, but also just keep doing what we were doing in the first half,” said Swaim, a junior who ended up scoring twice during the game. The second half proved to be just as fruitful for the Gamecocks, as they added three more goals to seal the deal against Mercer. Sophomore Ashley Kirk knocked the ball into the net unassisted at the 53:26 mark, while sophomore Cobbs followed her act with another unassisted goal at the 85:02 mark. Swaim picked up her second goal of the game just more than a minute after Kirk scored with assists from Foster and freshman forward Schroeder. Another force to be reckoned with on the field was feisty junior forward Darcel Mollon. Her quick moves gave her three shots on the goal and an assist to Schroeder in the first half. It made for a quick start and an early victory for USC’s freshman women *9 Katie KirklandJTHE (JAMECOCK Junior forward M.A. Foster, right, sprints for the ball in Friday’s game. ti i