Nov. 3, 2006
Orange Beach, Ala. – The South Carolina women’s soccer team fell to top seeded Florida on Friday evening 2-0 in the semifinals of the SEC Soccer Tournament in Orange Beach, Fla. All-SEC forward Stacy Bishop scored a pair of goals to lead the Gators to the two-goal win. South Carolina is now 11-6-5 on the year with nationally ranked Florida 13-4-4 this season. Carolina now awaits word on the 64-team field for the NCAA Tournament to be announced on Monday afternoon.
“We put ourselves in a hole in the first half and unfortunately they scored on a great direct kick by Stacy Bishop,” said USC head coach Shelley Smith. “We were playing against the wind but were able to hold them to just a few chances. The early goal changes the match. Second half we played much better, put some more pressure on them, but overall it wasn’t our best performance. Florida deserved to win the game. They came out and played very well.”
Florida would go ahead 1-0 late into the first half of play on a direct kick goal from Stacy Bishop at the 35th minute. A foul call would give Bishop a free kick from 25 yards out, which she drilled to the high left corner and past Carolina keeper Laura Armstrong. The Gators controlled majority of play in the first half with a 5-1 shot advantage as well as a 4-0 edge in corner kicks. Each team had just one foul to the stanza as well. Armstrong had two saves in the first half for Carolina.
South Carolina would possess right out of the gates in the second half and control play. Mary Worthen broke in early in the second half and knocked a left-footed shot from the top of the 18 that was saved on line by UF keeper Brittni Goodwin at the 48th minute of play. USC looked to create chances but could never get behind the Gator defense that stayed organized throughout the last 45 minutes of play. Florida would get an important insurance goal with Bishop’s second of the night. She would score in the 78th minute as Carolina could not clear the box allowing Bishop to score from inside the six-yard box. Florida native and Gamecock forward Kacie Brewer would also get a good look in the last minute of play only to see her header saved again on line by Goodwin for the Gators.
“They are a very good team and we didn’t do well enough to find the space that was given,” said Smith. That will happen, we had some chances but we didn’t create enough. That’s what happens in a loss.”
Florida finished the match with a 10-3 shot advantage, also ahead 5-0 on corner kicks. Armstrong finished with two saves with Goodwin finishing with three for the Gators. Friday night’s match was only the second time this year Carolina allowed more than one goal against an opponent.
“We’ve had a good run here, a great season overall and I think we deserve to be in that top tier of teams that make the NCAA Tournament,” said Coach Smith. “We will wait for Monday and hope that we get that bid. We hope to continue our season and be ready for the next opportunity given.”
The 64-team Women’s College Cup bracket will be announced on ESPNEWS on Monday, November 6, between 3-4 p.m. ET. USC is looking to obtain its first at-large berth since the 1998 season.
“This team has done a great job,” said Coach Smtih. “Tonight was unlike us and it’s important to learn from mistakes. This group played with a lot of heart, a lot of pride with great teamwork and team efforts. They really supported each other after wins and losses. We will move forward and make sure we compete the next time we are given an opportunity.”
