Sept. 10, 2007

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina sophomore Blakely Mattern has been named SEC Defensive Player of the Week after her performance in this weekend’s victories against UC Davis and UNLV, the conference announced Monday. The honor marks the second time in as many weeks that a Gamecock earned the recognition as senior goalkeeper Lindsay Thorstenson took home Player of the Week honors the previous week.

Mattern (Simpsonville, S.C./JL Mann HS) earns the honor for the first time in her career after being named the Defensive MVP at the UCF Tournament this weekend. She patrolled the center of the defense and was instrumental in preventing the Aggies and Rebels from getting shots on goal with her headers out the box. Mattern also delivered a key pass in the box that led to Carolina’s lone goal in the 1-0 win against UNLV. For her efforts, Mattern was named a unanimous pick for the All-Tournament team.

The No. 13 Gamecocks return to action Wednesday when they host Winthrop at 7 p.m. Live stats and the audio broadcast can be heard at www.gamecocksonline.com.