Georgia-Tennessee Notes
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Sept. 29, 2005

Columbia, S.C. – The South Carolina women’s soccer team returns to action with conference play on the road this weekend. South Carolina will first travel to Athens, Ga. for a Friday night conference tilt on Sept. 30 with the Georgia Bulldogs. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The Gamecocks will then continue on the road for a match at No. 20 Tennessee set for 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 2. Live gametracker stats will be available at uscsports.com. Sunday’s match vs. the Lady Vols will be televised on a tape delay basis on Tuesday Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. on CSS-TV.

“I expect it to be a challenge, like it is every year going on the road in the SEC,” said USC head coach Shelley Smith. “These are both very good teams. We have to make sure we play to our potential and make sure we are ready to play. We have to forget that we are on the road once we hit the field. It’s like any other field and we have to meet the challenge.”

South Carolina is 5-4 and 1-1 in the SEC after the first weekend of conference play. Georgia heads into the weekend 7-2-1 and with an identical 1-1 conference record. Tennessee is at the top of the SEC East with a 2-0 conference record and is 4-4-1 overall on the year.

Several players for the Gamecocks will also be spending time in there home state this weekend when they meet up with the Bulldogs and Lady Vols. Carolina has seven players from the state of Georgia on the roster, the highest number from any state on the Gamecock team. M.A. Foster, Monica Hogan, Ashley Kirk, Kali Neumann, Erin Sullivan, Lindsay Thorstenson and Amanda Thurber will all return to the Peach State. USC senior defender Kimmy Criss will also return home this weekend when the Gamecocks travel to Tennessee. Criss is a native of Knoxville, Tenn.

“When you are going home to play, you want to perform and beat the team that everyone in your high school goes to, it’s a more prominent school for them,” said Smith. “So they take some pride in performing and trying to get a win against them. I think overall for us, it’s a motivation just to play against a SEC team that has a good record and is doing well. We have not done well in the past against either of the teams will play this weekend.”

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS Georgia enters Friday night’s match coming off a 1-1 weekend at home vs. Ole Miss and Mississippi State. The Rebels defeated Georgia 1-0 last Friday night but Georgia was able to bounce back with a 3-1 win over MSU. Georgia opened the year with a six-game winning streak and a tie at 22nd ranked Southern Cal, 1-1 on Sept. 16.

“Georgia possesses the ball very well,” said Smith. “They have changed their style of play from years past. With a new coaching staff and some new faces on the field, they will be a new team for us to compete against. They have quality players and Patrick Baker has done a good job already to get them working together and to challenge teams in and out of the conference.”

Senior forward Ali Williams is the team’s leading scorer with seven goals and has started all 10 matches this year. Erin Sekerak, Missy Vierling and Caitlin Dingle all have three goals as well for the Bulldogs. Junior goalkeeper Lauren Church has started all 10 matches in goal and owns four shutouts and possesses a 0.50 goals against average.

SERIES HISTORY WITH THE BULLDOGS

This is the 11th meeting between South Carolina and Georgia with the Bulldogs leading the series 6-2-2. The teams played to a 1-1 tie last year in Columbia.

South Carolina’s last victory vs. Georgia came on Oct. 15, 1999 when USC in a 1-0 victory in Athens. The last four matches have had a goal margin no greater than one dating back to a 1-0 loss in Athens in 2001 for the Gamecocks.

SCOUTING THE LADY VOLS

Tennessee is 2-0 in the SEC following a 1-0 win over Ole Miss and 3-0 victory against Mississippi State. The Lady Vols are ranked 20th in this weeks NSCAA/adidas poll. Tennessee has won two consecutive SEC championships, three straight SEC Eastern Division titles and were the 2002 and 2003 SEC Tournament champions.

“Tennessee is very athletic, put a great deal of pressure on the ball, so our players will have to be at the top of their game to make sure they move it and play quickly,” said Coach Smith. “That’s the one team that has eluded us. We’ve tried to get a win and haven’t been able to against them. On the road is difficult but two years ago we were close to upsetting them and anything can happen. We feel we have a good chance going into any match this year to pull out a win.”

The Lady Vols have been on a roll lately with a three-game winning streak entering the weekend. Tennessee has already faced five nationally ranked teams this year including a 1-0 win at sixth ranked Virginia.

Freshman forward Kylee Rossi leads the team in scoring with three goals and one assist. Junior midfielder Ali Christoph also owns two goals and one assist. Senior goalkeeper Vanessa Phillips-Bosshart has started all nine matches in between the posts with three shutouts and a 1.41 goals against average.

SERIES HISTORY WITH THE LADY VOLS

This is the 11th meeting between South Carolina and Tennessee with the Lady Vols leading the series 9-0-1. Tennessee is the only team in the SEC that the Gamecocks have never defeated.

Carolina has had a couple close calls in 2002 and 2003. Both teams tied in 2002 in Columbia, with the Gamecocks coming back from a two-goal deficit in the second half in Knoxville in 2003. USC would fall in the match 3-2 on a late goal by the Lady Vols off a corner kick. Last season Tennessee defeated Carolina 3-1 in Columbia.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

USC freshman forward Alex Mouton garnered Carolina’s first conference award this past weekend when she was named SEC Freshman of the Week. Mouton scored both goals in Carolina’s 2-0 win over Alabama on Sunday afternoon. The native of Columbia, S.C. has three goals and has played in all nine matches for USC.

RESPECTED IN THE REGION

Carolina is ranked eighth in this week’s NSCAA/adidas regional rankings as well as 10th in the Southeast Region by Soccer Buzz.

ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM

South Carolina had two players named to the All-Tournament Team three 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 and Alex Mouton lead the Gamecocks in goals scored with three on the season with Ashley Kirk and Jessi Swaim right behind them with two apiece. Also scoring goals for Carolina in the first five weeks are; Courtney Cobbs, M.A. Foster, Monica Hogan, 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 nine 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.

THE MAGIC NUMBER IS …

The magic number for South Carolina this season has been two. South Carolina has posted a 5-0 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 six matches decided by one goal including the last five of the last six contests. That ties for the most in the SEC along with Ole Miss.

USC is 2-4 in one-goal matches last earning a victory in the 2-1 win over Miami.