SC-Alabama/Auburn Game Notes
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Sept. 22, 2005
Columbia, S.C. – The South Carolina women’s soccer team begins conference season at home on Friday night with its SEC opening match vs. Auburn at 7 p.m. at Stone Stadium. Fresh off a 2-1 win over Miami on Sunday afternoon, the Gamecocks enter the weekend looking for its first conference-opening win since 2002 when USC defeated Florida 1-0 in overtime at home. USC will also host Alabama on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET to close out the weekend. Live audio broadcast and live gametracker stats for both matches will be available at uscsports.com.
“It’s always an advantage to be at home,” said USC head coach Shelley Smith. “We’ve had success at home this year and in the past. It’s nice to start the conference off without having to travel, especially when we had two weekends away of games. The Miami game, it was good to finally be home last week and to have Auburn and Alabama coming here, it is a different setting. We have our home crowd, and now we have to perform while we are here.”
Friday night’s SEC opener vs. Auburn marks the third straight season the Gamecocks and Tigers have opened the season against one another. Auburn defeated USC 1-0 last year at the AU Soccer Complex with both teams battling to a 0-0 tie, two years ago, in a match played at Stone Stadium.
“Last year we learned that if we didn’t get it done in conference, our success in the early part of the season didn’t matter,” said Coach Smith. “We had a great start and gave up some conference games that were really disappointing. The team knows that we played well in the non-conference period this year, had some good results, and now have to take that and learn from it and build on it as we go into the SEC. It’s not good enough yet. We need to make sure we do our job in conference to prove we belong and be a contender. I think our confidence is strong. We know we are a good side and coming off last year’s SEC season, we were disappointed and we want to prove ourselves right away. To start the conference off on the right foot would be ideal, the team deserves to do much better than it did last year.”
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Auburn comes into Friday night’s match with a 1-5-1 record. The Tigers enter the SEC season as the preseason selection by the coaches to win the SEC West. Auburn has won four consecutive SEC West championships dating back to the 2001 season as well as the SEC overall title in 2002. Auburn’s 1-5-1 start to the season is the worst start for the team since the 1998 season when AU started 1-6 after seven games.
“Auburn’s record is not indicative of what they will be,” said Coach Smith. “They are very talented. They haven’t gotten some of the results that they wished they had at the beginning of the season, but as we know, the SEC is a new season and it starts from scratch. Auburn will come in with probably their best performance of the year knowing that they need to do well in the conference. We expect to face a very good Auburn team no matter what they have done coming into the game. They have goal scorers from all areas of the field and you just have to make sure you play as a group to shut them down.”
Freshman midfielder Leah Blayney leads Auburn in scoring with two goals and one assist on the year. Junior defender Ronda Brooks also has two goals to lead the Tiger attack. Sophomore goalkeeper Anna Fiser is expected to start for Auburn in between the posts. Fiser has 21 saves on the year with 1.39 goals against average and seven goals allowed.
SERIES HISTORY WITH THE TIGERS
This is the ninth meeting between South Carolina and Auburn with the Tigers leading the series 3-2-3. Auburn defeated USC 1-0 last year on Sept. 24 on a first half goal from Sarah Steinmann. Before Auburn’s victory, the team’s had played to two consecutive ties including a 0-0 match on Oct. 3, 2003, the last time both teams met in Columbia.
South Carolina’s last victory vs. AU came on Oct. 20, 1999 when USC defeated Auburn 1-0 in Auburn. The Gamecocks have never defeated the Tigers in Columbia in the eight-match history with both victories coming on the road.
COMMON OPPONENTS
South Carolina and Auburn have already seen each other this season, although both teams did not compete against each other. The Gamecocks traveled to Auburn in the beginning of the season to compete in the Auburn/Reebok Classic. USC and Auburn each went 1-1 in the tournament. Carolina defeated Rhode Island 2-0 but fell to Cal State Fullerton 1-0. The Tigers also were defeated by the Titans in a 2-1 double overtime game but managed to defeat Rhode Island 3-0 for their lone victory of the season.
South Carolina and Auburn also both faced Miami (Fla.) in their respective home stadiums last week. The Gamecocks came away with a 2-1 win over the Hurricanes on Sunday with the Tigers losing 2-1 at the AU Soccer Complex last Friday night.
SCOUTING THE CRIMSON TIDE
Alabama comes into the weekend with a 6-1 record and will travel to Florida on Friday night for its SEC opener before coming to Columbia for Sunday’s match. The Crimson Tide rank 14th in the Southeast Region according to Soccer Buzz and our second in the nation in scoring, averaging five goals a match.
“Alabama is an improved team,” said Coach Smith. “They are strong and physical and it has been a battle with them every year. In order to have success, we have to make sure we play to our strengths and not theirs.”
Alabama’s leading goal scorer is senior forward Libby Probst, who also leads the SEC with 13 goals and six assists on the season. Alabama has split between goalkeepers this season with two freshmen in between the posts. Kara Gumens is 2-0 with a 0.57 goals against average in four starts and Karen Lansden is 4-1 with a 0.86 goals against average in three starts.
SERIES HISTORY WITH THE CRIMSON TIDE
This is the seventh meeting between South Carolina and Alabama with the Gamecocks leading the series 4-2. Alabama defeated USC 4-2 last year on Sept. 26 with four second half goals. Carolina had won three consecutive matches before the Crimson Tide’s win last year.
South Carolina’s last victory vs. Alabama came on Oct. 5, 2003 when USC scored twice in the last 10 minutes to win 2-0 at Stone Stadium. Amanda Thurber had a goal and an assist in the Gamecock win.
RESPECTED IN THE REGION
Carolina is ranked ninth in this week’s NSCAA/adidas regional rankings as well as 11th in the Southeast Region by Soccer Buzz.
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM
South Carolina had two players named to the All-Tournament Team two weeks ago at the Carolina Cup. Sophomore midfielders Courtney Cobbs and Ashley Kirk earned all-tournament honors for their play in Carolina’s matches with Clemson and Charlotte.
SPREAD THE WEALTH
Ten different USC players have scored at least one goal already this season. Darcel Mollon leads the Gamecocks in goals scored with three on the season with Ashley Kirk and Jessi Swaim right behind her with two apiece. Also scoring goals for Carolina in the first four weeks are; Courtney Cobbs, M.A. Foster, Monica Hogan, Alex Mouton, Felicia Schroeder, Erin Sullivan and Mary Worthen.
PENCIL THEM IN SO FAR
South Carolina has used a variety of lineups this season with 19 of the 23 players on the team getting at least one start on the year. However, three of the 19 players have started all seven matches for USC thus far. Junior defender Erin Geldhof and sophomores Courtney Cobbs and Ashley Kirk have been in each of head coach Shelley Smith’s lineup.
45/45
USC has shown remarkable symmetry throughout the season as the team has posted 45 shots piece in the first and second halves played this year. Carolina has been very strong on the offensive end this year with 90-41 advantage in shots vs. opponents as well as a 43-15 edge in corner kicks. The Gamecocks are outscoring opponents 14-6 with only one goal allowed in the second half of play.
THE MAGIC NUMBER IS …
The magic number for South Carolina this season has been two. South Carolina has posted a 4-0 record when scoring two or more goals in a match.
ONE-GOAL MATCHES
South Carolina has already provided its fans with some tense moments into the season as the Gamecocks enter the weekend having already played five matches decided by one goal including the last four contests. That ties for the most in the SEC along with Tennessee and Vanderbilt.
USC is 2-3 in one-goal matches earning a victory in last Sunday’s 2-1 win over Miami.
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 19-2 against non-conference opponents at home with 12 consecutive wins dating back to the 2003 season.
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
Since Shelley Smith became head coach in 2001, Carolina has had great success against non-conference opponents with a 32-12-3 record (.713) against teams outside of the SEC.
