Auburn Reebok Classic Notes
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Aug. 31, 2005
Columbia, S.C. – The South Carolina women’s soccer team heads on the road for the first time this season with a pair of games at the Auburn Reebok Classic. South Carolina opens up the tournament on Friday night at 4:30 p.m. CT against the Rhode Island Rams and closes it out on Sunday afternoon with a match against Cal State Fullerton at Noon p.m. CT.
“We need to remember where we have come from the last couple years and that every game counts,” said USC head coach Shelley Smith. “We have to focus on our job. Our focus is to beat the opponent and that is what we need to do. I think our team is more deteremined than ever and I expect them to be ready and prepared to play both opponents.”
Each match marks the first time that South Carolina will play both teams in school history. The Gamecocks head to the Plains with a 2-0 record with Cal State Fullerton 1-1 and Rhode Island 0-2 after the first week of play in soccer. Host Auburn will play Cal State Fullerton on Friday evening and Rhode Island on Sunday afternoon.
“I expect the physical play to be there from Rhode Island,” said Coach Smith. “I would think you have much more of a technical side when you play teams from California like Cal State Fullerton. Players from there are some of the best in the country and have a good technical game, good passing game. Having experienced Rhode Island as a coach, I know they will definitely compete. We have to make sure we outwork them and move the ball.”
TOURNAMENT TIME
This weekend’s Auburn Reebok Classic marks the first of two non-conference tournaments that USC will play in this season. South Carolina also will play in the Carolina Cup at Clemson next week with matches vs. the Tigers and Charlotte.
South Carolina has played in at least one non-conference tournament a season dating back to Shelley Smith’s first year in 2001. That season, USC played in the SDSU classic earning 2-1 a win against host San Diego State and tying UNLV, 1-1. The Gamecocks played in the Puma Classic in Charlotte in 2002 with a 4-1 victory vs. East Carolina and a 2-0 defeat to Charlotte. The Gamecocks traveled to Athens, Ga. in 2003 to play in the Georgia Soccer Tournament earning a pair of wins against Georgia Southern (3-1) and Liberty (1-0). Last year, South Carolina played in the Virginia Nike Soccer Classic but suffered 5-2 losses to both Maryland and Virginia.
“Our goal is to play teams out of our region,” said Coach Smith. “When you get to a national level you want to prove yourself in your own region, which we have plenty of chances to do just within our conference matches. To play teams outside the region is important though and every year we try to play teams oustide of the Southeast.
ON THE OFFENSIVE
After the first weekend of matches, several Gamecock players found themselves near the top of the SEC in several categories. Junior midfielder Jessi Swaim is tied for the league lead in points with six as and is also tied for third in goals scored with two. Sophomore forward Courtney Cobbs leads the conference in assists with three and is also tied for fourth in points with five so far. M.A. Foster is also among the league leaders in assists.
SPREAD THE WEALTH
Eight different USC players have scored at least one goal already this season. Jessi Swaim is the only player on the squad to have more than one goal. Also scoring goals for Carolina in the first weekend of play were Courtney Cobbs, M.A. Foster, Monica Hogan, Ashley Kirk, Darcel Mollon, Felicia Schroeder and Erin Sullivan.
THE GRAVEYARD
Eugene Stone III Stadium, also known as the Graveyard, continues to be a tough spot for opponents when they come to town to play the Gamecocks. Over the last five seasons, South Carolina is 18-2 against non-conference opponents at home with 11 consecutive wins dating back to the 2003 season. South Carolina is scheduled to play one more non-conference home match this season on Sunday, Sept. 18 when USC hosts Miami (Fla.) at 11 a.m.
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
Since Shelley Smith became head coach in 2001, Carolina has had great success against non-conference opponents with a 30-9-3 record (.750) against teams outside of the SEC.
FOR STARTERS
The 2-0 start for South Carolina marks the fourth time in school history that the Gamecocks have started off the season with two victories. USC has never started a season winning its first three matches of the year. South Carolina’s best start came in 2001 when the Gamecocks opened up the year unbeaten in its first six matches with a 4-0-2 record.
South Carolina is also now 3-1-1 in season opening matches under head coach Shelley Smith after the 7-0 victory over Mercer. The seven-goal victory ties for the third largest margin of victory in school history. The largest margin of victory was set in Sept. 19, 2001 when Carolina defeated South Carolina State, 12-0.
WELCOME TO CAROLINA
Three different newcomers tallied points for Carolina in the first contest of the season. Freshmen Monica Hogan and Felicia Schroeder scored their first career goals with junior college transfer Darcel Mollon adding an assist to Schroeder’s goal. In addition, Schroeder added an assist to a goal from Jessi Swaim. Hogan and freshman Kim Boulos both earned starting nods as well in the opener. Also getting play for the first time in garnet and black were Alex Mouton and Mary Worthen.
Mollon scored her first goal of the season in Monday night’s match when she delivered the first goal in a 2-1 win vs. Furman.
PUT IT ON THE BOARD
A majority of the scoring in Friday’s opener came from the trio of juniors Jessi Swaim and M.A. Foster as well as sophomore Courtney Cobbs. Swaim had two goals and one assist with Foster and Cobbs both scoring once and credited with two assists. Also scoring for Carolina was sophomore Ashley Kirk, who scored from 40 yards out on a direct kick and also had an assist.
IN GOAL
Sophomore goalkeeper Lindsay Thorstenson is 2-0 after her first two starts in between the posts for USC. Thorstenson has five saves and combined with Laura Armstrong for the first shutout of the year in last Friday’s season opener vs. Mercer. Thorstenson has a goals against average of 0.57 heading into the weekend.
SCOUTING THE RAMS & TITANS
Rhode Island enters the weekend with an 0-2 record under first-year head coach Zac Shaw. The Rams played in Charlottesville, Va. last weekend and fell 6-0 in the opener vs. Virginia and 4-0 to Maryland on Sunday. Rhode Island returns eight seniors including goalkeeper Ria Carroll. Senior forward Melanie Kasparek led the team in goals scored last season with nine.
The meeting with the Rams will be the first meeting for Shelley Smith against the Rams since she left URI to take the Gamecock post back in 2001. Smith was the head coach at Rhode Island from 1997-2000 where she took a program that was 2-16 her first year to a 12-6 record in her second season. Her final season at Rhode Island, Smith directed the 2000 squad to a 15-4-1 record, best ever in URI history and was named the NSCAA Northeast Region Coach of the Year and was also nominated for National Coach of the Year.
Cal State Fullerton will go into the tournament with a 1-1 record after defeating San Jose State 5-1 but falling 2-0 to San Diego State. Five different players scored for the Titans in their victory over San Jose State. CSF outshot San Jose State 23-5 in the match. Senior forward Kandace Wilson was the team’s leading scorer last year with 10 goals and 21 points and scored in last week’s win over SJSU.
A QUICK RECAP
Erin Sullivan’s first goal of the season almost two minutes into the second half lifted the South Carolina women’s soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Furman on Monday evening at Stone Stadium. Darcel Mollon also scored her first goal of the season for the Gamecocks and goalkeeper Lindsay Thorstenson earned her second win between the posts with two saves on the night.
“We had some more challenges to face tonight,” said USC head coach Shelley Smith. “Every team we face we have to get better and better. We can’t go back on our performance and that’s what we have to learn from the match.”
Mollon put Carolina ahead 1-0 in the 26th minute off a cross pass from Courtney Cobbs. Cobbs was able to beat a Furman defender to the end line and played a pass into the box, where Mollon was waiting and put in a header goal from just five yards out and pass the Lady Paladin goalkeeper Andie Hinshaw.
“Courtney Cobbs worked very hard tonight and created a lot of chances for us, breaking down their defense 1v1 on the flank,” said Smith. “That really keeps a team going when you are getting into the attacking 1/3.”
Furman would knot the match at one apiece just before halftime at 44:45 as a long service played by Tara Marker found Andre’a Morrison, who broke past the Carolina defense and knocked a shot to the left corner and past Thorstenson tying the match with just 15 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Gamecocks broke out of the gates though early in the second half with Sullivan scoring the game-winner at 46:55. Junior midfielder Jessi Swaim gained possession of the ball down the left flank and played back to Sullivan, who launched a shot from 30 yards out that went above the head of Hinshaw and into the net giving Carolina a one-goal edge.
“Giving away a goal with 15 seconds left in the half is inexcusable and we need to make sure we learn from that,” said Smith. “For the team to come back and get the win, I give our players a lot of credit. Erin Sullivan did a great job with her opportunity in the second half. That’s what we like to see out of her. She has the ability to shoot from the long range and pull the trigger and she did that. We played a much better second half. The effort was much better. We still need to improve on some things, it is a learning experience and we got a win.”
The match remained 2-1 the rest of the way with both teams creating goal scoring opportunities but neither finding the back of the net. USC outshot Furman 10-7 with also a 4-3 advantage in corner kicks. Cobbs, Ashley Kirk, Mollon, Sullivan and Swaim all had two shots apiece to account for the 10 shots on the evening for Carolina.
“There is a lot of things we did well in spurts, we just have to be sure to be playing for the 90 minutes like we did the other night against Mercer,” said Smith.
