October 7, 2001

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina women’s soccer team (5-4-2, 0-3) was defeated by Vanderbilt Sunday afternoon, 1-0, in front of 536 fans at Stone Stadium. For the second consecutive game, USC outshot its opponent (17-5) and held advantage on offense but was unable to score.

“We are disappointed with this loss,” said USC Head Coach Shelley Smith. “We can’t let this game affect us. Our players have to put it behind them and go forward.” The lone goal of the match came at 28:33 when Vanderbilt’s Michelle Bruntlett kicked in a rebound from 12 yards out to put the Commodores up 1-0.

South Carolina came close to scoring several times in the second half. Midfielder Melinda Carter knocked a shot from 20 yards out that hit the crossbar. Freshman forward Ashley Williams also made a run past the Vanderbilt defender only to see her shot saved by Commodore goalkeeper Stacee Sproul. Sproul had 10 saves in the mach for Vanderbilt.

“We had our chances in the second half,” said Coach Smith. “We just had a couple bad bounces and breaks. We hit the crossbar on one, had a couple bounces in the “18” and we just couldn’t get it to go our way. Give Vanderbilt credit, they hung in the match and their keeper played well.”

The Gamecocks continue SEC play on Fri. evening as they travel to Arkansas for an 8 p.m. (EDT) match. Entering next week’s matches, the Gamecocks have yet to allow an opposing goal in the second half of play.

“Any team we will play in the SEC is going to be tough, especially on the road,” said Coach Smith. “We just have to be prepared for our trip and go into the next matches and play a full 90 minutes.”

Source: USCSPORTS.COM