Nov. 21, 2013
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 14 ranked Gamecocks, and No. 3 seed in North Carolina’s quadrant, will travel to Los Angeles, Calif., this weekend to face No. 17 Stanford in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at 8 p.m. ET. UCLA is the No. 2 seed in the quadrant and will host the second and third round games at Drake Stadium.
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Opponent: Friday, Nov. 22 vs. No. 17 Stanford
Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
Stadium: Drake Stadium
Scouting Stanford
The Cardinal come into the matchup fresh off of a 1-0 win against Cal State Fullerton in the first round, outshooting its opponent 21-6, 11-2 on frame. Leading scorer Taylor Uhl tallied her 11th of the season at the 14-minute mark. Uhl transferred from Minnesota during the offseason after leading the nation in goals in 2012. She is second in points for Stanford this year at 22, while senior Courtney Verloo has 26 points (9G, 6A). Junior Chioma Ubogaguis the third part to the Cardinal’s attack, totaling 10 points (2G, 6A).
After an early end to senior goalkeeper Emily Oliver’s career, freshman Jane Campbell has stepped in to replace her, allowing 11 goals in 17 games while producing 65 saves.
All-Time Vs. Stanford
The Gamecocks and Cardinal have only faced once in their history, a 2-0 win for the Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif., in the second round two years ago when the Cardinal went on to finish 25-0-1 and win the program’s first national championship.
Against the Tournament Field
Against this year’s 64-team-field, South Carolina has a 5-1-2 record, posting wins over Duke, Northeastern, Arkansas, Florida and Kentucky and picking up draws at Boston University and Ole Miss. Its only loss came in the SEC Tournament semifinals against No. 21 Texas A&M, its only loss against a Top 25 team this season.
In the NCAA Tournament
The Gamecocks are 5-5-1 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Prior to the team’s 5-0 opening round win over Furman, its last win came at home in 2011 with a 1-0 win over Texas. South Carolina had its deepest run in 2009 when the team reached the third round, before falling to Wake Forest in the third round, 1-0, in the final seconds.
Making History at Stone Stadium
This season, the Gamecocks are 11-0 at “The Graveyard”, allowing only four goals and twice coming from behind to win with under 10 minutes remaining. With their 2-1 win over Kentucky, this season’s squad became the first in program history to win 10 games at home in a regular season. With its win over Furman, the team joined the 2009 squad as the only other team in program history to post 11 wins at home in a season. This year’s team though is currently the only one to record an undefeated mark at home in a season as it sits at 11-0 compared to the 2009 team which went 11-1.
Offensive Explosion
Against in-state foe Furman, the Gamecocks exploded for a season-high five goals, totaling four in the first half as redshirt junior Taylor Leach tallied her second game-winner of the season. Sophomore Raina Johnson added to her season total with her team-leading tenth goal of the year and sophomore Coryn Bajema chipped in two of her own. Freshman Sophie Groff ended the scoring for Carolina in the second half with her third of the season.
Late Season Comeback
After missing the majority of the season due to injury, sophomore Coryn Bajema returned to action against Missouri on Oct. 18. After getting back into the swing of things that weekend, Bajema has been one of the Gamecocks top offensive threats late in the season. In the last five games, she leads the team in points with nine (3G, 3A) after recording the second multi-goal game of her career in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Freshman Assistance
Freshman midfielder Chelsea Drennan has made an immediate impact in the offensive third for the Gamecocks this season since taking over the starting attacking midfield role. The Anderson, S.C., native started the season with a pair of assists against UNC-Wilmington in the opener and hasn’t stopped since, assisting on game-winners versus Arkansas, No. 8 Florida, Alabama, Vanderbilt and Furman.
After breaking the freshman record for assists in a season against Alabama with her seventh, Drennan tied the school record for the most in a single game with three versus Vanderbilt to push her mark up to 10. She added two more to that total against Furman and is currently ninth nationally in total assists with 12. She is one away from from tying Mindy Sanders’ near 15-year-old school record for most in a season.
