Oct. 6, 2011

=”” alt=”Facebook Logo” border=”0″ class=”imported”>Gamecock Women’s Soccer on Facebook | =”” alt=”Twitter Logo” border=”0″ class=”imported”>Follow @GamecockWSoccer on Twitter

By Miquel Jacobs
Assistant Media Relations Director

South Carolina vs Alabama | Friday, 7 p.m.

| Live Webcast (Free) | Game Notes

South Carolina vs #22 Auburn | Sunday, 2 p.m. (CSS)

| Game Notes

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina continues its SEC homestand this weekend when Alabama and Auburn visit Stone Stadium. In Carolina’s first fixtures against Western Division opponents, Alabama comes to The Graveyard for a Friday night 7 p.m. kickoff before No. 22 Auburn comes for a 2 p.m. Sunday match that will be televised live on CSS. Friday’s match will feature two of the premier young Canadian goalkeepers in Alabama’s Justine Bernier and South Carolina’s Sabrina D’Angelo.

The Gamecocks hold a 9-3-0 series advantage against Alabama and are 5-1 against the Crimson Tide in Columbia. South Carolina took a 2-1 victory in Tuscloosa last season when Kayla Grimsley knocked in two penalty kicks en route to earning national player of the week honors.

South Carolina and Auburn have been even in the history of the season with the Gamecocks holding a 6-5-3 advantage following a 3-1 win at Auburn last season. Both teams have had better success on the road, but Carolina has taken the last two games in Columbia by identical 1-0 scores, including an overtime win in 2009.

ON THE HORIZON
The Gamecocks hit the road for three straight SEC West matches beginning with a trip to the Magnolia State next weekend to take on Mississippi State and Ole Miss before traveling to LSU.

SCOUTING ALABAMA
Alabama brings a 6-4-2 record to Columbia and is led by sophomore Kendall Khanna’s three goals and three assists for nine points. Five players have scored multiple goals this season for Alabama including freshman Theresa Diederich’s team-high four goals. The Crimson Tide will play one of the elite goalkeepers in the conference in senior Justine Bernier who leads the SEC in save percentage (.868) and saves per game.

SCOUTING AUBURN
Auburn (9-2-1) brings the SEC’s No. 2 offense to Columbia that is highlighted by four players with double-digit points this season. Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award finalist Katy Frierson leads the SEC with nine points and is the team leader with 15 points. The Tigers have had breakout performances by junior Ana Cate (six goals and 12 points) and freshman Tatiana Coleman (five goals, four assists, 14 points) to go unbeaten in 10 games before getting upset by Mississippi State last Sunday. Junior Amy Howard has returned from offseason surgery to start the last four games in goal. She sports a 1.43 goals against average with 12 saves in 315 minutes this season.

CAROLINA VS THE SEC WEST
South Carolina historically has enjoyed greater success against SEC West foes than SEC East foes by the surprising note that the Gamecocks hold the series advantage against all six SEC West schools but does not have the advantage against any of the SEC East schools. The Gamecocks are 43-20-13 (.652) all-time against the West with series’ against Alabama (9-3-0), Arkansas (8-3-1), Auburn (6-5-3), LSU (7-2-5), Ole Miss (7-3-2) and Mississippi State (6-4-2).

GRIMSLEY HITS ANOTHER MILESTONE
Senior Kayla Grimsley became the second Gamecock to hit the 100-point milestone after scoring the first goal of the game at Georgia last Sunday. Grimsley’s goal at 33:22 gave her 101 points in her career with a stat line of 38 goals and 25 assists for 101 points in 81 career games. Grimsley is the only active player in the SEC with over 100 career points and is eighth on the NCAA active career points list. Below are the nine active players with 100 points.

D’ANGELO MAKES AN IMPACT
Freshman goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo ranks 43rd in the country in goals against average at 0.76 and is 6th among the nation’s freshmen in the category, but it’s the intangibles that has the national media paying attention. The Canadian international ranks 1st in the SEC in goals against average and second in save percentage in conference games, and she has single-handedly kept South Carolina in games with more than a dozen “how did she do that” saves that had “All White Kit’s” blogger Chris Henderson write “(D’Angelo) should be one of the favorites for freshman All-America honors and looks like rounding into one of the SEC’s best.” This is despite missing two and a half games to a sprained ankle suffered at Clemson.

GRIMSLEY HITS THE ASSIST RECORD
Senior Kayla Grimsley took sole possession of the program record for career assists in Carolina’s win at then-No. 11 Tennessee after earning her 25th career assist on Kortney Rhoades’s golden goal. Grimsley passes the record of 24 set by Mindy Sanders from 1996-99, a record that has held strong for 12 seasons. The connection with Rhoades is a strong one as Grimsley previously tied the record against UNC Wilmington on a goal scored by Rhoades, her best friend.

LOLLY’S POP
Senior Lolly Holland has started South Carolina’s last three matches at forward after previously starting at midfield, and the switch has paid dividends for the Gamecocks. Holland had a career day against Vanderbilt with three points in the win. She scored her third goal of the season with a header just 4:05 into the game before assisting on the final goal for Carolina.

SHUTOUT DEFENSE
Defense has been the calling card for Shelley Smith’s Gamecocks, and the 2011 season shows early signs of continuing that character trait despite the abundance of youth in the regular rotation. South Carolina has posted shutouts in six of its eight wins and leads the SEC with 10 goals against and a 0.74 goals against average.

GAMECOCKS ON TV
South Carolina will appear on a TV a minimum of three times in 2011 with at least one of those games occurring on national TV, marking the fifth consecutive season that Carolina will play in front of a national audience. The Gamecocks defeated Vanderbilt 3-0 last Sunday on ESPNU. This Sunday’s game vs. Auburn will be shown on CSS, and the Florida game in Gainesville will be shown on FS Florida. The Gamecocks are 7-6-1 on TV since the 2007 season.