2006 Women’s Soccer Schedule in PDF Format
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May 30, 2006
Columbia, S.C. – The South Carolina women’s soccer team has announced its 2006 schedule that includes 11 home games at Stone Stadium. Carolina opens the year at the Missouri Tournament in Columbia, Mo. on Friday, Aug. 25 when the Gamecocks face Illinois. The schedule features six opponents that reached the 2005 NCAA Tournament: Illinois (8/25), Clemson (9/15), Tennessee (9/29), Vanderbilt (10/8), Ole Miss (10/15) and Florida (10/27). Carolina’s home opener is on Thursday, Aug. 31 vs. Francis Marion.
“We’re going to challenge ourselves right away at the tournament in Missouri against an NCAA team from Illinois that was ranked in the Top 20 last year as well as Iowa,” said USC head coach Shelley Smith. “We’ll then have three non-conference home games before we compete in the Carolina Cup for the second straight year.”
The Gamecocks will host in-state rival Clemson this season on Friday, Sept 15 with kickoff set for 7 pm at Stone Stadium.
“Our annual South Carolina-Clemson game is on a Friday night and we are looking for a great turnout and would love to see the fans be a part of that match at our home field,” said Coach Smith. “It’s a great showcase of two of the top teams in the state with a high level of play from both teams.”
The 2006 season marks the third consecutive year that all 12 SEC school will compete without exclusion of any one team from the schedule. In previous seasons, four of six teams from the SEC East and SEC West would meet with two schools excluded from the schedule.
The SEC season opens on Friday, Sept. 22 with USC traveling to Tuscaloosa, Ala. to face the Alabama Crimson Tide followed by a road contest the following Sunday (Sept. 24) at Auburn. Carolina’s SEC home opener in on Friday, Sept. 29 against defending SEC champion Tennessee. The Gamecocks will also host Georgia, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, LSU and Florida. The match with the Gators on Friday, Oct. 27 is the final game of the regular season with Senior Day held before the contest.
“Once again our conference is very strong and every team has improved and brought in stronger recruiting classes,” said Smith. “It makes it more challenging and we are excited for the competition and ready to prove ourselves. We fell short of our goals last year and our team is motivated to play and encouraged by their effort in the spring season. I think we have a great recruiting class with a strong corps of returning players that will be excited to play in the fall.
