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Aug. 24, 2006
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina women’s soccer opens the 2006 season this weekend at the Tiger Invitational in Columbia, Mo. with the team’s first game scheduled for Friday, Aug. 25 at 6 pm ET vs. 13th ranked Illinois. Carolina will also face Iowa on Sunday, Aug. 27 with kickoff set for 12 noon ET. Live gametracker stats for both games will be available at uscsports.com.
FROM HEAD COACH Shelley Smith
(On the 2006 Gamecocks)
“This team has really come together, supported each other on and off the field. The chemistry is good and the work-rate is excellent. The freshmen have come in and met our expectations, some have exceeded them. They were prepared as well as the returning players prepared. We have good leaders on the field and a strong core of returning players that have put last year behind them and are ready to make a difference.”
“I think we will be more dangerous in our attack. Darcel (Mollon) is that much more of a threat. She has done a great job to raise her game, the timing of her runs are better. Our players are able to deliver the ball to her better. We have been much more creative and threatening in the attack. With the players making better decisions, that has added with what we are going to do in the offensive third.”
(On what to expect this weekend)
“We are looking for (our team) to compete. We know the potential and talent we have, our players need to show that. We need to make every minute count. If we get down a goal, we need to battle back. If we are up a goal, it’s playing smart and playing hard. Whatever the situation may be, we need our players to be confident in our play, push and fight for each other on the field. That is what we have seen in the preseason and I hope we take it into competition.”
“We probably know more about Illinois than Iowa because of Illinois’ success. We’ve been able to follow them a little more because they have been in the NCAA’s and played at Florida (last year). It’s one game at a time. We know it is going to be a battle. We also know just because we are not a ranked team, it doesn’t matter when we hit the field. Everyone is 0-0 and it is a brand new year. We have a lot to prove and we know we can turn heads if we really put our talent together.”
“We are excited to challenge ourselves. That is why we got in this tournament, to play two out of region teams. It’s exciting for the team to go and travel together, and continue to bond as a group. Again, the team chemistry has been great and I think that is going to make us that more stronger when we travel on the road. We are all just excited to play another opponent.”
WEEKLY NOTEBOOK
THE FIRST TIME
This weekend’s matches vs. Illinois and Iowa marks not only the first time that Carolina is competing against those schools in soccer but also the first time in school history that the Gamecocks will face off against an opponent in the Big Ten Conference.
Carolina has played teams from 16 different conferences up until this weekend’s tournament in Missouri. Carolina is also scheduled to meet Jacksonville State, the first time USC will compete against a team from the Ohio Valley Conference.
FOR STARTERS
South Carolina is 6-4-1 in season opening matches heading into the 2006 opener vs. the Illini. The Gamecocks have won two straight openers with a 1-0 win vs. Georgia State in 2004 and a 7-0 victory against Mercer last year. Head coach Shelley Smith is 3-1-1 in openers in her career at Carolina. The last time USC opened a season on the road was in 2003 when the Gamecocks fell to Clemson 1-0 in overtime.
ON TAP
Following this weekend’s trip to Missouri, the Gamecocks will return home for the home opener on Thursday, Aug. 31 when USC takes on Francis Marion. Kickoff for the first home match of the year is set for 7 pm at Stone Stadium with live gametracker stats also available at uscsports.com.
Next Thursday’s match with Francis Marion will start a three-game homestand that also features James Madison (Sept. 3) and The Citadel (Sept. 5).
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.
OH CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN
This year’s captains on the 2006 team are senior defender Erin Geldhof and junior midfielder Ashley Kirk.
Geldhof has been a consistent starter on the backline for Carolina over the past two years at the left back position. Since 2004, she has made 30 starts and enters the year with 57 matches under her belt in her three-year career. The senior from Troy, Mich. also has had success in the classroom as a two-time SEC Academic Honor Roll recipient.
Ashley Kirk has been the mark of consistency at midfield over the past two years for Carolina. Kirk was the 2004 SEC Co-Freshman of the Year and earned second team All-SEC honors in 2005 for her playmaking ability and competitiveness. Kirk has started 36 of 38 matches played in her two-year career and owns four goals with five assists in that span.
A GOOD SUMMER
Forward Darcel Mollon was very busy this summer as she played with both the Trinidad National Team and with the Charlotte Eagles of the W-League, a semi-professional collegiate league. Mollon helped lead Trinidad & Tobago to a berth into the Caribbean Final Round Qualification for the 2006 CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup. Mollon scored four goals and started all three games as Trinidad & Tobago earned victories in the Group D First Round over Grenada and St. Vincent & The Grenadines at the Larry Gomes Stadium in Malabar. She scored 4 goals in the first of 3 qualifiers and started all 3 games. Mollon also helped lead the Charlotte Eagles to the semi-finals for the W-League championship.
The senior from Chauganas, Trinidad returns to Columbia for her second season after leading the team in scoring in her first year with the garnet and black. A transfer from Young Harris College in Ga., Mollon scored five goals and tallied four assists for 14 points in the 2005 season.
THE UPSTATE BACKFIELD
Kimmy Gillespie will start her junior season in a new position, a central defender in the back four defense for the Gamecocks. The native of Simpsonville, S.C. played her first two years in the midfield before moving to the back for the garnet and black. Ironically, Gillespie will team up with another teammate from the upstate of South Carolina, freshman Blakely Mattern, from Greenville and a product of JL Mann HS. Mattern will fill in beside Gillespie at the other center back position. Along with goalkeeper Laura Armstrong from Greenwood, S.C., the USC back features three players from the upstate area.
Gillespie was named to last year’s SEC Good Works Team for her service in the community. She has played in 32 matches with 28 starts in her career at Carolina.
THE NEW CLASS
Head coach Shelley Smith has brought in one of her deepest recruiting classes in her tenure with 10 newcomers in this year’s freshman class. The class has been recognized as well with a No. 5 ranking the SEC according to Soccer Buzz as well as 10th in the Southeast Region.
