Sept. 11, 2006
Greenville, S.C. – South Carolina freshman defender Blakely Mattern returned to her hometown of Greenville in dramatic fashion with a goal scored late in the first half that was enough to help lift the Gamecock women’s soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Furman on Monday night on the final day of the Carolinas’ Cup. Junior goalkeeper Laura Armstrong, also from the Upstate, recorded her first shutout of the season and had a pair of saves to help USC to the one-goal victory. The Gamecocks are 4-3 on the year while the loss drops Furman to 2-4 this season.
“I’m very happy with the way we competed,” said USC head coach Shelley Smith. “We played very hard. Furman did a great job to keep pressure on us all night. I think both teams really nullified each others’ attack. We didn’t get many chances at all, especially in the second half. The first half we did and we capitalized on one and that was a goal, to finish the chances we got. The overall team effort was their tonight, the players we asked to come in did their roles and we were able to get the win.”
South Carolina went ahead late in the first half at the 42:07 when Mattern scored with her second goal of the year. After being awarded with a corner kick, USC was able to pounce on the Furman goal as a misclear by the Lady Paladins allowed Mattern to connect on a shot just inside the six-yard box for a 1-0 Carolina lead. Carolina held a 5-1 advantage in shots and in corner kicks after the first half of play.
“Coaches are always honest about knockdowns in the box and giving 100 percent and do what you can to get it on the net,” said Mattern. “The ball dropped down and I did everything I could to hit it at the goal. It took a lucky bounce and I hit it in.”
The goal was all that the Gamecocks needed as the second half of play saw neither team find the back of the net. Carolina finished the match with a 6-4 overall advantage in shots. The Carolina defenders and Armstrong in goal thwarted several attempts in the second half on restarts that came into the Gamecock penalty box area.
Along with Mattern and Armstrong, also representing the Upstate for the Gamecocks in Monday’s match was Kimmy Gillespie (Simpsonville, S.C.) and Annie Galloway (Spartanburg, S.C.).
“It was awesome to be able to represent USC for the first time (in Greenville),” said Mattern. “I was able to play in front of the club I played for (CESA) and it was nice to come away with the victory.”
Mattern along with Courtney Cobbs and Ashley Kirk were named to the All-Tournament Team for the Carolinas’ Cup. USC finished the tournament with a 1-1 record.
“Blakely is a very composed player, confident in her play and doesn’t play like a freshman,” said Smith. “I’m very happy for her to score the goal we needed and to play as well as she did in front of her home crowd. It makes a difference when you have someone in the game to finish in the box.”
With the win, USC looks to ride the momentum into a Friday night match at home at Stone Stadium vs. the Clemson Tigers. Kickoff at the Graveyard is set for 7 p.m.
“We needed to come back and learn from our mistakes on Saturday,” said Smith. “We still have more learning to do and things to improve on. That’s our goal every game, to get better.”
