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lu.:„ Hi, Alabama running back Kenneth Darby breaks through the USC defensive line on Saturday. Darby rushed for 145 yards during the game, leading Alabama rushers, who ran for 338 yards on the day. opfensE • conTinuED fRom 10 threw a costly interception in the second half to keep the momentum squarely on Alabama’s shoulders. Spurrier expressed his concern with the sophomore signal caller. “Maybe I’m asking Blake to do things that are a little too l difficult right now,” Spurrier said following the game. “Letting him hand off more is probably what we need to do with him ... . Hopefully someday he’ll be able to check off and see guys and make a little bit better decisions.” Spurrier even turned to redshirt freshman quarterback Antonio Heffner for a series at the beginning of the second half, but after the team fumbled three times in the drive, the head ball coach gave the ball back to Mitchell. Alabama, whose defense was highly touted entering Saturday’s contest, proved why they had the nation’s No. 2 ranked defense a year ago. “They’re real good, I mean they beat us,” Goddard said. “So, I can’t say they’re bad.” Redshirt freshman receiver Sidney Rice impressed the crowd at Williams-Brice Stadium, sticking out as maybe the only bright spot on quite a cloudy day for the Gamecocks. “We’re dumb not to throw every play at Sidney Rice,” Spurrier said. “He’s a big-time receiver, and we’ve got to use him more.” After only two games on a college football field, Rice has 11 catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns. The 6-foot 4-inch Gaffney native showcased his leaping ability twice Saturday, leaping over Bama defenders twice and hauling in difficult catches. Other than Rice, bright spots were hard to find, and Spurrier indicated there could be some shuffling this week in practice to get to the level USC fans are expecting. “I do apologize to our fans. I thought we’d be more competitive than we were today,” Spurrier said. “I apologize to our fans who came ready to cheer and yell and scream, and we didn’t do our part as a football team.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm. sc. edu Mollon beats adversity to lead USC past ’Canes junior defender overcomes loss, • spearheads womens soccer win by scoring game-winning goal Brent Greenberg FOR THE GAMECOCK USC’s women’s soccer team (4-3) rebounded at home Sunday afternoon with a 2-1 win against the University of Miami (5-3-1) after disappointing outcomes in its last three games against Cal State Fullerton, Clemson -and Charlotte last weekend. USC coach Shelley Smith’s team came out on fire, looking to prove something to everyone in attendance at Eugene E. Stone III Stadium. Junior forward Darcel Mollon had something to prove as well. Earlier in the week, Mollon had to cope with the untimely death of a family friend back 1 home in Trinidad. On Sunday, she made a vow to show her respect by giving everything she had. I dedicated this game to her ... . I played extra hard, Mollon said. “One of my goals today was to score, and I think that helped motivate me.” Mollon helped the Gamecocks jump out to an early lead, making the assist on a goal two minutes into the game; after Ashley Kirks shot nicked the crossbar, Mollon sent a screaming ball across the mouth of the goal that freshman Alex Mouton touched past diving Miami goalkeeper Lauren McAdam. Miami answered right back in the eighth minute though, when Paulelette Ricks-Chambers took advantage of a misplayed ball in the defensive third of the field and scored on a breakaway. Although the Gamecocks had outshot the Hurricanes 8-3, the teams went into the half tied. “We gave them a goal. We were all over them, and then we stopped playing,” Smith said. “We didn’t finish off that first half well.” The Gamecocks responded, though, as Mollon wreaked havoc on Miami’s defense throughout the second half, tallying four shots on goal for the game. All her hard work finally paid off in the 70th minute. Erin Sullivan played the ball out wide to an open Jessi Swaim, who sent a low-lying cross inside the 6 yard line that Mollon tucked into the left corner of the goal. “It was just a flick on; 1 added my Caribbean flavor to it though,” Mollon said. The game wasn’t over, as Miami had a chance to score the tying goal in the last minute as a shot deflected off a Gamecock defender before being narrowly tipped away by goalkeeper Laura Armstrong, who ended the game wirh three saves. Mollon helped end a three game losing skid for the squad, as the Gamecocks end their non conference schedule. They will enter SEC play this weekend when Auburn comes to town Friday. Smith was pleased with how her team closed out its tough non-conference schedule on a high note. “We’d much rather go into conference play on an upswing instead of a couple losses,” Smith said. “This is huge for us to get a win against a good Miami team. It looks very good for us going into SEC matches.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu - — Juan Blast'THE GAMECOCK Junior defender Darcel Mollon battles for a ball during USC’s 2-1 victory against Miami. TIDE • connnucD mom 10 It was numbers like those that have defensive coordinator John Thompson worried. “Obviously we didn’t tackle, we were not physical. We stopped them very few times,” Thompson said. “I haven’t seen a stat sheet, but I’m sure it’s going to reflect poor in every category. We didn’t get the job done. We got whipped.” “They were just able to run on us,” rover Ko Simpson said. “They came out, and they ran it down our throat. It was very frustrating. We thought we had a good shot at this game.” Alabama capped the day with an “in your face”-type score, allowing second-string quarterback J.P. Wilson to come in and complete his only pass 36 yards for a score with 9:51 left in the fourth. “We came out flat as a team. We didn’t rise to the occasion,” defensive lineman Stanley Doughty said. “The big runs, their guys just basically outplayed us.” The Gamecocks did get the chance to make the score a bit more respectable,e as Sidney Rice caught a 6-yard score from Mitchell late in the fourth to finish out the day’s scoring. USC’s secondary kept Croyle in check almost all day. His 12 completions on 21 attempts for 115 yards are not the most impressive statistics, but the Gamecock defensive backs only had one pass break-up all day and failed to register an interception. “We knew coming in we was facing a good quarterback,”. cornerback Fred Bennett said. “He didn’t show us nothing different. I guess we just got outplaye'd today. We’ve got to correct some things definitely. I don’t think we’re the team we need to be right now. I don’t think we’re the team we can be.” - v After giving up more than 600 rushing yards in only two games, the Gamecock defense might become a casting call before next Saturday’s ball game. “We’ve got to coach better and give our guys a better chance to win some games,” Spurrier said. “So, we’ll be in a re-evaluation the rest of the week. We’ve got to do something different.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu BROom • connnuco froriio soon. There is nothing more difficult to do as a college football fan than to be . patient, but right now Carolina fans don’t really have a choice. Steve Spurrier is a great college football coach, but even he needs a little time. The offense will finally click after a little bit of time to learn assignments and protect the football better. The defense will finally make those big third-down stops after a little bit of time to learn from its mistakes and gel as a team. And one day. I’m going to tap that girl on the shoulder, and she’s going to be just as attractive up close as she was from far away. It’s the waiting that’s the hard part. Katie Kirkland/THE GAMECOCK USC coach Steve Spurrier walks off the field after a 34-17 loss to Alabama on Saturday. It was his worst NCAA loss in five years. i ® ZEUS Internet Marketing Specialist Zeus Industrial Products, Inc. is the leading manufacturer of fluoropolymer tubing for use in the medical device, aerospace, electronics, analytical, semiconductor, and environmental industries. We are seeking qualified candidates for the position of Internet Marketing Specialist. The Internet Marketing Specialist will primarily assist the Internet Marketing Manager with analyzing and determining ROI for Zeus Marketing programs. 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