Gamecocks to Host Senior Night vs. Ole Miss, Travel to No. 20 Florida
#8 Women’s Soccer vs. Ole Miss/at #20 Florida
- Match Notes
- Watch Live (Ole Miss)
- Live Stats (Ole Miss)
- Watch Live (Florida)
- Live Stats (Florida)
COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 8 South Carolina women’s soccer wraps up its final full week of the SEC regular season by hosting Ole Miss on Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. at Stone Stadium and then will travel to No. 20 Florida on Oct. 27 at 3 p.m.
GAMECOCKS TO HONOR SENIOR CLASS ON SENIOR NIGHT
No. 8 South Carolina women’s soccer will honor five senior student-athletes on Oct. 24 against Ole Miss as a part of its annual Senior Night. The program will honor Mikayla Krzeczowski, Elexa Bahr, Tatumn Milazzo, Rebecca Koch and Grace Fisk. Additionally, the program will honor two additional seniors in manager Sarah Kanuch and former player Kailey Mattison.
LAST TIME OUT – TENNESSEE
Then No. 7 South Carolina women’s soccer (11-1-2, 5-0-2 SEC) finished in a 1-1 draw with Tennessee (8-5-2, 2-4-1 SEC) on Friday night at Stone Stadium. Junior midfielder Lauren Chang netted the Carolina’s lone goal.
“Tonight’s result is disappointing,” South Carolina head coach Shelley Smith said. “We told the team that we outplayed them most of the night and put ourselves in a position to win the match. We should have put some chances away to avoid the situation at the end. We gave up a goal we shouldn’t have, but we’ll have to move on and get ready for our next opponent.”
SCOUTING OLE MISS
Ole Miss (8-4-3, 2-2-3 SEC) comes to Stone Stadium for the first time since 2016. Carolina has won the last two meetings by a combined score of 4-0 with Bahr scoring the gamewinner back in 2017 for the Gamecocks. Ole Miss is coming off a tie to Alabama and a loss to Georgia, but has a win over Florida this season. The Rebels are led by Channing Foster who has netted eight goals and has a pair of assists. Julia Phillips has been dynamic for Ole Miss with five goals this season on just eight shots on goal. In goal Ashley Orkus has started all 15 matches this season and has a goals against average of 1.30 with 69 saves and a 76.7 save percentage. Ole Miss is 3-3-1 on the road this season.
SCOUTING FLORIDA
The always-tough Gators will host the Gamecocks on Oct. 27 in another ranked matchup. The Gators enter as the No. 20 ranked team in the latest polls with a record of 10-5-0 (6-1-0 SEC) and sit just one point behind the Gamecocks in the East Division standings. Senior midfielder Vanessa Kara leads the Gators on the offensive end with eight goals this season, three being gamewinners. Cassidy Lindley is a factor on the offensive end with four goals and five assists. Susi Espinoza has been in goal for all 15 matches this season for Florida. She has a 1.33 goals against average, allowing a total of 20 goals this season with a 71.4 save percentage. The Gators will take on Tennessee on Oct. 24 prior to taking on the Gamecocks on Oct. 27.
GAMECOCK NATIONAL STATS
Nationally, the Gamecocks are among the best in goals against average through seven weeks of the season with a team mark of 0.43. That ranks the Gamecocks ninth in the country. Individually, Mikayla Krzeczowski is 12th in the country in goals against average. South Carolina is second in the country in average attendance through the non-conference season with an average of 2,356 fans at each home match.
ABUNDANT EXPERIENCE
Carolina’s starting defense consists of two juniors and three seniors who have combined for 282 collegiate starts. Krzeczowski (79), Milazzo (55) and Sarah Eskew (44) have made all of their starts at South Carolina. Center backs Fisk (67) and Anna Patten (37) have made starts at previous schools on top of their time at South Carolina.
IRON MIK
Since taking over the role as the starting goalkeeper in 2016 Mikayla Krzeczowski has not missed a match for the Gamecocks. The stretch has reached 79-straight matches over her four seasons without missing a match. During that span, Krzeczowski has picked up 42 clean sheets and holds the current goals against average record for a career at Carolina at 0.48.
WEEKLY GREATNESS
Coming in at No. 8 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll, South Carolina has now been in the top 25 for 46-straight weeks dating back to 2016. The streak is the longest since the program began keeping track in 2007.
SUPER SENIORS
The 2019 seniors have seemingly done it all. Their 65 overall wins and 31 SEC wins as a class is the second most by any one class in program history (both just one win behind the mark by the 2018 class). The 2019 class has a 40-2-3 record at home for a winning percentage of 0.922, the best in program history. The class has won two SEC championships (2016, 2017) reached the NCAA Tournament in every season and has won eight matches which includes a trip to the 2017 College Cup.
IT JUST MEANS MORE – TO THE GAMECOCKS
Over the past seven seasons, the Gamecocks have been near the top of the SEC standings almost every season. Since giving up three goals on Oct. 25, 2012, the Gamecocks have not given up more than two goals in a single SEC match, a streak that covers 73 matches with the Gamecocks holding an impressive 51-12-10 record over that span.
UP NEXT
The final week of the 2019 regular season will have the Gamecocks on the road to take on Auburn. The match is schedule for Oct. 31 on SEC Network + at 8:00 p.m. with additional whip around coverage scheduled on SEC Network. The SEC Tournament bracket will then be revealed shortly after the conclusion of the SEC regular season on Oct. 31.
QUICK NOTES
– Mikayla Krzeczowski’s 42 career shutouts gives her the 15th most in NCAA Division I history
– The Gamecocks have defeated 12 ranked opponents at Stone Stadium over the past four years and hold an overall record of 12-2-0 in that span
– Since Grace Fisk joined the Gamecocks in 2017, the team has a goals against average of 0.43 in the 49 matches she has played
– The 2019 senior class has won 65 wins, including 31 in the SEC, which is the second most by any class in program history (just one behind the 2018 class)
– The senior class has won two SEC championships (2016, 2017) and has reached the NCAA Tournament every season, winning eight matches and reached the 2017 College Cup
