Victory Over Vermont: No. 4 Gamecocks Tally Fourth Shut Out, 2-0
BURLINGTON, VT – The No. 4 Gamecocks women’s soccer team defeated the University of Vermont 2-0 for their fourth shut out of the season on Sunday. The game marked the homecoming for head coach Shelley Smith (UVM ’94), and the first matchup between the two teams.
Breaking Down the Action
The first half started off quiet for both sides, until an early shot came from the Catamounts in the fourth minute of play. The Gamecocks answered with their first of the half from Corinna Zullo which was on target to the lower right corner but was saved by UVM goalkeeper Erin Murphy.
South Carolina kept up the energy with two consecutive shots in the 13th minute from Brianna Behm and Sam Chang but came up empty. Junior Cat Barry had a nailbiter straight to the bottom of the net but was met by a save from Murphy. Chang took two more shots (one on-goal) in addition to another from freshman Micah Bryant but each came up short.
In the 31st minute, senior Cam Dixon came up from the right-side line to punch one in for the Gamecocks in the high left corner to give South Carolina the first goal of the game and the lead 1-0. The goal was the first of the season for Dixon, as well as the first since her freshman year, three-years to the day (at Jacksonville, Aug. 28, 2019).
Payton Patrick got things started for Carolina in the second half, putting up a shot that was just wide to the left 23 seconds in. The Gamecocks put up eight more shots over the next 15 minutes compared to the Catamounts’ two.
In the 63rd minute, freshman Shae O’Rourke sent a beauty of a pass up front to Chang, where the senior capitalized and scored the second goal of the game, and the second for herself this season. The assist was O’Rourke’s third so far this year.
The Gamecocks finished with a 31-10 shot advantage (18 on goal), the highest so far this season. Senior goalkeeper Heather Hinz recorded five saves.
Up Next
South Carolina will head home to face No. 18 Clemson at home on Thursday, Sept. 1 at 7:00 p.m. in Stone Stadium.
For women’s soccer updates, continue to check back with GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team’s social media accounts on Twitter @GamecockWSoccer, Facebook /GamecockWSoccer, and Instagram @GamecockWSoccer.
