Sept. 13, 2010

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina freshman midfielder Danielle Au has picked up conference and national accolades after her breakout performance to lead the Gamecocks to the Carolina’s Cup tournament title last weekend. Au was named the SEC Freshman of the Week and also earned a spot on the CollegeSoccer360.com Primetime Performers of the Week list, the two organizations announced Monday afternoon.

Over the weekend, Au scored the second goal in a 2-0 victory against rival Clemson before hitting the golden goal game-winner against Furman to notch her first four career points as a Gamecock over the weekend. It was also the first two-goal weekend of the year for a Gamecock. For her efforts, Au was named the Carolina’s Cup tournament MVP.

Her overtime goal against the Paladins makes Au only the second freshman to hit a golden goal in South Carolina history, and it is the third golden goal scored by a freshman overall. The last one occurred by Lexi Tourtellotte against Evansville (Oct. 16, 1995) in the first season of South Carolina women’s soccer, a span of 15 seasons and 56 overtime games.

South Carolina plays a rare Thursday night home match this week when the team hosts nationally-ranked Minnesota at 7 p.m. The Gamecocks will then travel to Wake Forest for a Sunday matinee.