Oct. 13, 2006
Columbia, S.C. – A goal by freshman Blakely Mattern in the 74th minute of play was enough to lift South Carolina to a 1-0 win over Mississippi State on Friday evening in SEC women’s soccer action. Carolina snaps its two-game losing streak and improves to 10-5-1 and 4-2-1 in the conference while the loss drops MSU to 2-12 and 1-6 in the SEC. Carolina returns to action on Sunday afternoon at 2 pm vs. Ole Miss in the SEC Game of the Week. Live gametracker stats and live audio broadcast is available at uscsports.com.
“We did a good job sticking to our game plan and the team was able to execute for the entire match,” said USC head coach Shelley Smith. “That makes a big difference, when you come out and play the way you want to play. We covered for each other if we made a mistake and we had great set pieces and players running to the box wanting to score.”
The first half saw Carolina coming away with a 7-1 shot advantage and almost scoring on several near misses. Mattern, in a sign of things to come headed one off the cross bar early into the first half. It was also followed up by a direct kick shot by Ashley Kirk that was denied by Mississippi State goalkeeper Taryn Holland.
USC would continue to attack the backline of Mississippi State in the second half with more opportunities. Mary Worthen also headed a ball of the crossbar. The sophomore forward would finish with five shots in the match, an individual high total for Carolina. Ashley Kirk also had four shots on the evening for the Gamecocks as they finished with a 18-2 edge on the night. USC would also hold a 10-0 advantage in corner kicks.
“The fact that our players worked hard this week to work on completing passes and being together as a group was important,” said Coach Smith. “We came to play tonight which was different than last weekend. Being at home is a big help and we will be able to build off this. To battle like we did, is a great credit to our team.”
The goal for Mattern would come at 73:14. USC defender Kimmy Gillespie served a strong ball to the far post that found Mattern inside the six, where she put the shot away and past Holland for the lone goal of the match. Mattern’s goal was her third of the season.
“Blakely did a great job off of Kimmy Gillespie’s set piece and it paid off,” said Coach Smith. “Mississippi State is a hard team to break down and they battled the entire time against us. It was hard to find a goal but we didn’t give up or get frustrated, we continued to play and we converted our chance.”
South Carolina goalkeeper Lindsay Thorstenson earned a shutout and her first win of the season in place of injured goalkeeper Laura Armstrong. Thorstenson made two saves in goal for USC. Holland would finish with six saves for the Bulldogs. Carolina is now 7-0-1 this season at Stone Stadium, the seven-win total for the Gamecocks ties as the second highest home victory total in school history. The record of nine was set in 1999.
“We are excited where we are at and we have to continue to play,” said Coach Smith. “It’s great to be at home for three more matches and we take pride in playing well on our home field. Hopefully we can continue to take advantage of that.”
