Oct. 16, 2008

South Carolina at Alabama | Friday, 8 p.m.

South Carolina at Auburn | Sunday, 3:30 p.m.

General Information

Game Notes

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina hits the road this weekend with matches at Alabama and Auburn. Currently second in the SEC standings with 13 points, the Gamecocks (10-2-3; 4-1-1 SEC) will look to become the second Carolina team to record six conference victories with wins against the Crimson Tide (8-5-1; 3-3-0 SEC) and the Tigers (7-6-2; 3-2-1 SEC). Friday’s match is scheduled for 8 p.m. in Tuscaloosa with Sunday’s match slated for a 3:30 p.m. start.

Live Stats for both matches will be available at GamecocksOnline.com.

ON THE HORIZON
South Carolina splits its SEC weekend next week with a home game against LSU on Thursday and a road trip to Arkansas Sunday. The Tigers (10-2-0; 4-2-0) lead the SEC West and are third in the conference standings. The Razorbacks (9-5-0; 2-4-0) are ninth in the SEC standings.

SCOUTING ALABAMA
Alabama (8-5-1) is coming off a 7-0 loss to SEC West leader LSU but is still strong in the SEC race with a 3-3-0 conference record. The Tide is excellent so far this season with a 3-0 mark on Friday’s in SEC play but has dropped all three Sunday matches. Former Clemson coach Todd Bramble takes over the program this season after spending seven seasons with the Tigers, taking his teams to the NCAA tournament each year. Senior Kailey Corken leads the team with six goals and 13 points while Kara Gudmens has been sharp in goal after not playing the 2007 season.

SCOUTING AUBURN
The opposite of Alabama, Auburn (7-6-2) is perfect on SEC Sunday’s but has not recorded a win on a Friday yet. An NCAA Tournament regular under Karen Hoppa, the Tigers struggled in the non-conference schedule that included five straight games against Top 25 teams. Senior Allison Whitworth leds the team in goal with a 1.30 goals against average while the team has spread out its offense with four players over 10 points. Rebecca Howell leads the team with 18 points courtesy of 10 assists and four goals. Katy Frierson has six goals and five assists in her freshman season.

GRIMSLEY CONTINUES TO CLIMB THE CHARTS
Freshman Kayla Grimsley has carried her strog play from the non-conference portion of the season to SEC play. Grimsley currently leads Carolina with eight goals and four assists for 20 points, numbers that rank second all-time for Carolina freshmen with five regular season games remaining. Even more impressive is that 11 of her 20 points have come in Carolina’s six SEC games (4 goals and 3 assists). Grimsley leads the conference shot percentage and has earned weekly honors from Top Drawer Soccer, Soccer Buzz, Soccer America and the SEC. She became just the second Gamecock to score three goals in one SEC weekend – the last being Jennie Ondo in 1999.

PATTON SHINES IN FIRST SEASON IN GOAL
Redshirt-sophomore Mollie Patton has been one of many bright spots upon Carolina’s new starters this year. Playing for the first time since she graduated high school in 2005, Patton currently is second in the SEC with a 0.76 goals against average despite playing the most minutes of all keepers. She also ranks second with six shutouts. She began the season with a 434:23 shutout streak and came up big in Carolina’s draw with No. 7 Florida State.

CAROLINA IN THE POLLS
South Carolina returned to the national polls this week with a No. 29 ranking by Soccer Buzz magazine. Carolina has also received national recognition from the NSCAA coaches poll and Soccer Times’s poll as the second team out of the NSCAA poll and the fourth team out of Soccer Times.

MONTEIRO RETURNS TO THE LINEUP
Senior Danila Monteiro saw the field for the first time in nearly a month Friday when she played eight minutes against Ole Miss. The lone senior on the team, Monteiro missed five games after a hard foul to the back in the second minute at Western Carolina knocked her to the ground and she missed the remainder of the game with a leg injury. Monteiro, who missed the 2007 regular season finale and postseason after tearing her ACL, has progressed and should play the remainder of the season.

SAM I AM
Junior defender Samantha Diaz-Matosas scored Carolina’s first goal of the season with a penalty kick in the 43rd minute against East Carolina. She followed that up with the game-winning goal in the 88th minute against Ole Miss to give her two game-winners on the year. A former forward, Diaz-Matosas was named to the Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week this week.

JACOBS LEADS THE FORWARDS
Sophomore Brooke Jacobs scored in the 8th minute against Mississippi State for her second career goal – both having gone as game-winners. Jacobs’s goal marked the first goal this season by a player that strictly plays forward; a combination of defenders and midfield/forwards scored Carolina’s first 20 goals this season. Shannon Bigbie followed Jacobs’s lead with a goal Sunday against Ole Miss.

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
South Carolina is ranked in the top two in the SEC in every major defensive category. Led by starting defenders Brittiny Rhoades, Ellen Fahey, Blakely Mattern and Samantha Diaz-Matosas, Carolina has registered seven shutouts, holds a 0.76 goals against average and has limited opponents to 9.07 shots per game and 3.73 shots on goal, all ranking second in the SEC. The defense has only allowed 12 goals and 31 points, numbers that also rank second in the SEC.