Sept. 20, 2006

Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina freshman defender Blakely Mattern has been named to the Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week following her performance last week in Carolina’s three wins over Furman, Clemson and Jacksonville State.

“I’ve mentioned this earlier this year, but our entire defense on the backline (Mattern, Kimmy Gillespie, Erin Geldhof, Courtney Cobbs, Shannon Bigbie) and Laura (Armstrong) in goal have done a great job to keep us in games and to put us in position to win,” said USC head coach Shelley Smith. “Blakely has made a huge difference in the back and she doesn’t play like a freshman. She’s come in and met the expectations of her and she has been fun to watch. The team respects what she does and she is well-deserving of her honor. For her to be scoring goals as well, in addition to being an excellent defender, it’s been a great start to the year for her and we expect her to continue to improve.”

Mattern had a tremendous week for the Gamecocks starting off in her hometown of Greenville, S.C. where she scored the game-winning goal in USC’s 1-0 win over Furman. Mattern provided solid defense in the backline for Carolina in that match along with the 1-0 win on Friday night vs. Clemson, that saw the Gamecocks limit the Tigers to just three shots the entire evening. Mattern earned an assist in Sunday’s 6-0 victory over Jacksonville State.

The freshman defender has started all nine matches for Carolina this season and has tallied two goals and one assist on the year. Mattern and the Gamecocks return to action on the road this weekend as SEC play begins. Carolina’s first conference match is at Alabama on Friday, Sept. 22 at 8 pm ET.