USC-Alabama/Auburn Notes
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Sept. 20, 2006
Columbia, S.C. – With the non-conference slate complete, the USC women’s soccer team heads into SEC action this weekend with a pair of road contests in the state of Alabama. USC will first travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala. to face the Crimson Tide on Friday, Sept. 22 at 8 pm ET. The squad will conclude the trip then with a match on Sunday, Sept. 24 at 3 pm ET at 13th ranked Auburn. South Carolina heads into the weekend with a 6-3 overall record and riding a three-game winning streak as well as winners of six of the last seven matches played. Alabama is 4-4 heading into Friday’s contest with Auburn 6-1 on the year.
Carolina split the Alabama-Auburn weekend at home last year with a 2-0 win over the Crimson Tide and a 1-0 loss to the Tigers. The 2-0 win for Carolina saw forward Alex Mouton score twice in the second half to lead the Gamecocks to the victory. In the 1-0 loss to the Tigers, a goal from Kristin Stewart at 61:24 was enough to help lift AU to the win.
South Carolina leads the series history against Alabama 5-2 with head coach Shelley Smith 3-1 against the Crimson Tide. Auburn leads the series history against the Gamecocks 4-2-3.
COMMENTS FROM HEAD COACH Shelley Smith
(On heading into first SEC weekend)
“We are definitely ready and excited. We know that this is the meat of our season, conference play is always huge. Each weekend and any given day, you can beat anyone else. I think for us, going in after a good weekend like we had, where we played well to finish off our non-conference, it really gives us a great boost going into that first weekend of SEC play.”
(On playing the first conference weekend on the road)
“You have more time to focus on the road, but I think it is always an advantage to be at home. You are in your normal routine, have the home crowd, you do what your daily schedule is, and it’s a better situation. On the road, we try to make it as good a situation as possible for the players. We make sure that they stay busy but they get enough rest so they are focused on the matches. The big test in the SEC every weekend is giving your all Friday night and turning around on Sunday and doing the same thing. For us, we have proven we can play both Friday and Sunday in the non-conference schedule, now we have to do that in the SEC.”
(On the offensive and defensive play in the non-conference games)
“Our defense has given us a chance to win games. When you can shut out opponents or keep it to one goal, you rely on the attack to get you that one or two goals to win games. The (defense) has been solid and we have had lots of opportunities to score goals (this year). I think we have done a better job to finish those opportunities in the last few games and that’s what we have to take into SEC play. We have to make sure our defense continues to improve and not give away goals that are not well deserved by the opponent.”
(On scoring the first goal of a match this year)
“An early goal gives you confidence and really does make the game open up. Teams can’t sit in and defend, it gives the opportunity to continue to play and allow our midfield and our team to control play a bit better in any situation. I think last year we were up a goal a couple times and we lost games. This team is better than that. They have more confidence; they get down a goal or something goes wrong on the field they continue to play and believe they can win and that’s a big difference from some of our problems in the past here.”
(On this weekend)
“We definitely have to be prepared for what we will face (from Alabama and Auburn). We try to be as prepared as possible for the teams and that the players know what they need to do to compete against the strengths of the opponent. We need to focus on our job and what we can do to be successful.”
MATTERN NAMED TO SOCCER BUZZ ELITE TEAM OF THE WEEK
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 a 6-0 win over Jacksonville St.
The freshman defender has started all nine matches for Carolina this season and has tallied two goals and one assist on the year.
THE ROAD AHEAD
For the third consecutive year, the SEC schedule will feature all 12 schools competing against each other. Carolina has six matches scheduled at home with five on the road. Following the weekend trip to Alabama, the Gamecocks will return home for matches with defending SEC champion Tennessee and Georgia. This will be followed up with a road trip to two more SEC East schools (Kentucky, Vanderbilt) with a three-game homestand against Mississippi State, Ole Miss and LSU. A road tilt at Arkansas will be the last road contest before retuning home to face Florida, in the final regular season match of the year. The top eight teams from both divisions will compete at the SEC Tournament in Orange Beach, Ala.
HOME SWEET HOME
Carolina has proven to be a tough team to beat at the Graveyard with a 31-16-3 record (.650) at Stone Stadium under head coach Shelley Smith. Those 31 victories include a 24-2 (.923) mark against non-conference teams. USC has won 17 straight home contests vs. non-conference teams dating back to beginning of 2003.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
South Carolina has been very successful over the last six seasons when scoring two goals or more. Carolina has compiled a 38-6-1 record when tallying at least two goals in a match, including a 6-0 mark last season. USC is 4-0 this year scoring two or more goals.
ONE OR NONE
South Carolina has allowed one goal or less in all nine matches played this season. Carolina goalkeeper Laura Armstrong had started all eight contests and holds a 0.62 goals against average with 18 saves and two shutouts.
TAKING THE LEAD
South Carolina has been in good shape this season when taking the lead in a match. In all six victories this season Carolina has scored the first goal of the match
THREE GAMECOCKS NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM AT CAROLINAS’ CUP
South Carolina had three players named to the All-Tournament Team for this year’s Carolinas’ Cup. Blakely Mattern, Courtney Cobbs and Ashley Kirk all earned accolades for their play last weekend in the second annual Carolinas’ Cup. Furman hosted this year’s tournament. Charlotte will host next year’s event with the Gamecocks hosting in the 2008 season.
NADA
Two times this season the South Carolina women’s soccer team has not yielded one shot to its opponent. Both the 4-0 win over the Citadel and the 6-0 win over Jacksonville State saw the Gamecocks not allow a shot on goal the entire match.
SCHROEDER SCORES
Sophomore forward Felicia Schroeder is the team’s leading goal scorer this year with four goals and also leads the team with 10 points on the year. Now in her second season at Carolina, she has started six of nine matches and is among the league leaders in points (10).
