Sept. 21, 2007
CLEMSON, S.C. – The seventh-ranked South Carolina women’s soccer team dropped its first game of the season, 1-0, to No. 20 Clemson in front of 1,023 fans at Riggs Field. With the loss, the Gamecocks drop to 7-1-0 while Clemson improves to 6-1-0.
The home team was won the past five games in the series between the Gamecocks and Tigers. Clemson leads the overall series 10-3.
“It’s disappointing but we know that it was a hard fought game,” head coach Shelley Smith said. “We had our opportunities and had good performances.”
Clemson’s Lily Boleyn took a ball wide left to place a cross, but the ball was deflected by the Carolina defense. Tiger Lindsey Jackson played the deflection to Molly Franklin whose shot found the right corner of the net for the score in the 72nd minute.
Carolina held a 10-5 shot advantage and limited the Tigers to only two shots on goal. Clemson held a 16-15 edge in fouls.
Carolina controlled the ball for the majority of the match, but neither team’s offense could muster much on the attack. Both teams sat at one shot through the first 28 minutes before Carolina tossed a flurry of an attack with three shots in a span of four minutes. The best chance at reaching the back of the net came in the 34th minute as Shannon Bigbie played a ball in the air to Erin Sullivan. Sullivan’s header in front of the goal was saved by the fingertips of Clemson’s Ashley Phillips in the only saves of the first half.
The Gamecocks held a 5-1 shot advantage at the break and registered 10 fouls to Clemson’s eight.
Clemson’s first shot on goal came in the 66th minute, a straight shot saved by senior Lindsay Thorstenson. Both defenses kept the ball in the middle third of the field for the majority of the match before Clemson took the errant pass and converted the only score of the night. The Tigers were able to withstand the final Carolina attack to preserve the victory.
“The good thing about this team is that I know we can bounce back Sunday and not let this get to us as we get ready for conference play,” Smith said.
The Gamecocks conclude non-conference play Sunday when they host Marshall at 1 p.m. The game is the first of a double-header with the men’s team and is part of the “SEC Together We CAN Drive.” All fans that bring a food item will receive three-dollar admission, and all youth under 18 will be admitted free with a paying adult. Live audio broadcast and gametracker can be found at GamecocksOnline.com
