Women's Soccer: Season Opener Sunday at College of Charleston

[Brian Shoemaker]

PREVIEW FROM USC ATHLETICS....


COLUMBIA, S.C. - No. 17 South Carolina will try again to open its 2021 season as the Gamecocks travel to College of Charleston for a 7 p.m. match on Sun., Aug. 22. The match will stream live on FloSports.

2021 Season Notables

• South Carolina was originally scheduled to kick off the season at home on Thursday against The Citadel, but sustained inclement weather postponed the match. The teams will look to reschedule later this season.
• Head coach Shelley Smith returns 21 of last season's 26 letterwinners, including the team's top three goal scorers and four fifth-year seniors who chose to return for their bonus year of eligibility.
• South Carolina was picked by the league's coaches to finish third in the 2021 SEC regular season. The Gamecocks have not finished a season lower than third in the SEC since 2015.
• Five Gamecocks were named to the SEC Soccer Preseason Watch List - Catherine Barry, Lauren Chang, Samantha Chang, Ryan Gareis, Jyllissa Harris.
• South Carolina played an exhibition at Wake Forest last week, topping the Demon Deacons 2-0. The Gamecocks dominated the opening 12 minutes of the match with goals from Barry and Gareis in that stretch and never looked back.
• South Carolina added six freshmen to the collection of returning letterwinners, including five who saw the pitch in the exhibition at Wake Forest.

Look Back at Last Season

• South Carolina earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the eighth straight season and the 13th time under Smith. The Gamecocks advanced to the second round.
• The Gamecocks finished the shortened and split 2020-21 season 11-5-0 overall and finished atop the SEC East standings with a 6-2-0 record. They were ranked No. 21 in the final United Soccer Coaches Poll.
• In her college debut season, Catherine Barry led the team in scoring with six goals and 16 points (6G, 4A) to earn spots on the SEC All-Freshman and SEC All-Tournament Teams.
• Forward Corinna Zullo also capitalized on her first college season to tie for second on the team with 10 points, including five goals, including three gamewinners.
• At season's end, Lauren Change and Jyllissa Harris were both named to an All-SEC and All-Southeast Region Team.

Series History

• The Gamecocks hold a 6-1-2 record all-time against College of Charleston, including a 3-0 win on just under six months ago (Mar. 3) in Columbia.
• South Carolina has won the last four meetings and has not allowed a goal in the last three.

Scouting the Cougars

• College of Charleston got its season opener in on Thursday night, playing Georgia Southern to a 1-1 tie.
• The Cougars also played a pair of exhibition games, falling to Furman 2-1 and defeating The Citadel 3-2.
• In his 12th season at CofC, head coach Christian Michner returns a pair of third-team All-CAA players in fifth-year senior defender Leah Deutsch and junior forward Grace Powell.

For women's soccer updates, continue to check back with GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team on social media (@GamecockWSoccer).
Related Links

• WATCH: FloSports
• LIVE STATS

 

[Brian Shoemaker]

 

[FCB 2013 treble]

View embedded media

Not the usual goal scorers for South Carolina. I would assume that South Carolina scored on a few set pieces tonight, but I was unable to watch it due to FloSports wanted $7.99 just to watch the game.

 

[Brian Shoemaker]

RECAP FROM USC ATHLETICS....


Gamecocks Open 2021 Season with 3-0 Win at College of Charleston

8/22/2021 | Women's Soccer | Box Score

Once again weather played a role, but after getting washed out in the scheduled season opener on Thursday against The Citadel and lightning in the Charleston area delaying the start of Sunday night's contest, the 17th-ranked University of South Carolina women's soccer team opened its 2021 regular season with a convincing 3-0 win over College of Charleston at Ralph Lundy Field at the Patriots Point Athletic Complex.

"Definitely a good start for us to go on the road and get a win and get a shutout," said head coach Shelley Smith. "It was kind of sloppy conditions and we were able to handle that and play our game and get the job done.

"We were also able to play a lot of players and new players that got some valuable minutes in their first regular-season competition. We'll be able to build off that and get some young players especially time to grow as we move through the non-conference part of our schedule," added Coach Smith.

The Gamecocks (1-0-0) broke out on top at the 16:25 mark in the first half when redshirt senior Claire Griffiths connected off a corner kick to give Carolina an early 1-0. Just six-and-a-half minutes later, another corner kick led to another goal for the Gamecocks, as senior defender Sutton Jones put it in the back of the net off an assist from Lauren Chang to make it 2-0. The Gamecocks outshot the Cougars 7-3 in the first half, putting four shots on goal to CofC's one.

"We made an effort in the preseason to focus on understanding how key set pieces are. In the game of soccer, a lot of times it comes down to a set piece opportunity. Obviously, that was the difference tonight. We did the job, we executed well and took advantage. It was great to see us keep balls alive and finish."

The Gamecocks' defense controlled much of the second half, keeping the Cougars' scoring opportunities limited. Senior midfielder Jyllissa Harris put an exclamation point on the win with a goal on a penalty kick at the 73:32 mark.

Carolina finished the night with 15 shots including eight on goal. CofC (0-1-1) had eight shot attempts of which three were on goal. Junior Heather Hinz was credited with all three saves while playing 85 of the 90 minutes in goal for the Gamecocks.

Carolina improved to 7-1-2 in the all-time series with College of Charleston. Sunday's win came on the Gamecocks' first trip to Charleston since the 2002 campaign.

The Gamecocks return to action on Thursday, Aug. 26, when they travel to Greenville, N.C. for a 7 pm match with East Carolina.