Aug. 22, 2006

Columbia, S.C. –
The opening weekend for the 2006 season is closer, as the Gamecocks continue preseason practice before heading to Missouri for this weekend’s Tiger Invitational. Here are some comments from Coach Smith as the Gamecocks prepare to open the year vs. 13th ranked Illinois and Iowa.

(On entering the 2006 season)
“The good thing for our staff was that we had the best preseason meeting we’ve had since we have been here at USC. The players came back prepared, they did their workouts over the summer, which is a battle some times. They came back and were ready to go. We got started off last week (first day of practice) on the right foot. We are going forward.”

(On the season opener)
“We are really excited to take on Illinois in our first game this coming Friday. We head out to the University of Missouri on Thursday for a tournament they are hosting and take on Illinois, who finished in the Top 25 last year.”

(On the experience of this year’s team)
“The last two years we have had a young team relying on primarily freshmen and sophomores, finally, we have some upperclassmen to really lead us out there. With some of the new talent, it is a step in the right direction for us.”

(On the home schedule for 2006)
“We have a very exciting display of soccer for our fans to have a chance to come out. We do host Clemson on a Friday night, Sept. 15 at 7 pm and that will be a big game for us. Clemson has done well and we have battled back and forth with them every game (the last few years). We are excited to play them at home again, where we beat them two years ago (2-0 in 2004). Out of the SEC, there are five of 12 teams already ranked in the preseason. Out of those five teams, four of them we will host this year (Tennessee, Georgia, Ole Miss, Florida). We have some great games on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons available to our fans.”