Sept. 24, 2003
Spartanburg, S.C. – Freshman M.A. Foster scored her second straight game-winning goal and Erica Bowie added her second goal of the season as the South Carolina women’s soccer team defeated Wofford 2-0 on Wednesday evening. The win improves Carolina to 5-3-1 on the year while the loss drops Wofford to 3-3-1 on the season.
“I thought in the second half we controlled the ball better and did a good job of keeping possession and making good passes,” said USC head coach Shelley Smith. “We settled the match down and that created chances.”
Foster’s goal came in the early portion of the second half at 52:28 following a scoreless first period. Sophomore Abi Markham controlled the ball off a Wofford goal kick and found Foster, who broke into the box and through the Terrier defense to beat goalkeeper Austin Somers with a shot to the right corner of the goal. The goal for Foster was her third of the season.
The match remained 1-0 until late in the second half when Bowie scored off a pass from Ashley Williams at 87:20. Williams broke into the box past the Terrier defense and found Bowie on the right hand side. Bowie beat Somers to the left side and put the game away for the Gamecocks. Carolina finished the match with a 13-3 shot advantage and had nine corner kicks on the night. The win is USC’s third consecutive win of the season and gives the Gamecocks a 9-0 series advantage vs. the Terriers.
The first half saw both teams struggling to create scoring chances although Carolina put pressure on the Terrier defense with under 10 minutes remaining as Lauren Skinner came away with three shots to lead the Gamecocks. USC outshot Wofford 5-0 in the first half and owned a 3-0 advantage in corner kicks.
South Carolina returns to the road this weekend traveling to Athens, Ga. for the UGA/Nike Tournament. Carolina faces Georgia Southern on Friday, Sept. 26 at 5 p.m. and closes the weekend out on Sunday, Sept. 28 vs. Liberty at 11 a.m. USC opens up the SEC regular season on Friday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. in Columbia vs. the defending SEC champion Auburn Tigers.
