Feb. 20, 2016
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina women’s soccer program held its annual team banquet on Friday night at Williams-Brice Stadium. The event, which took place in the P1 Room at the top level of the stadium, celebrated South Carolina’s 2015 season that wrapped up in November with the Gamecocks’ eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the last nine years.
Women’s soccer coach Shelley Smith began the banquet by thanking everyone for coming before introducing new staff members of the team. The awards portion of the banquet followed her introductions, as several Gamecocks were honored for their performances this past fall.
Sophomore forward Savannah McCaskill, who led South Carolina with 29 points and 10 goals was tabbed the team’s Offensive Player of the Year, while senior Stevi Parker grabbed Team MVP honors for the third-straight year. A list of all of Friday’s award winners can be seen below.
Smith also detailed South Carolina’s accomplishments as a team, mentioning the Gamecocks’ third-highest average attendance mark in the country as well as their program-record 17 different goal scorers during the fall.
The night continued with each class coming up to the front of the room to share their praises for their fellow teammates. A video montage displaying the highlights from South Carolina’s 2015 season followed the players’ presentations, and the night ended with a tribute to goalkeeper coach Libby Bassett, who will be moving to Italy. Bassett worked with and developed several of the program’s top goalkeepers, including two-time First-Team All-American Sabrina D’Angelo.
South Carolina posted a 12-5-3 record in 2015 and won nine of its 11 matches at Stone Stadium. Two Gamecocks, McCaskill and forward Raina Johnson, earned All-SEC honors, while four players were named to NSCAA All-South Region Teams. South Carolina spent the entire regular season ranked in the NSCAA Top 25 and won at least 10 matches for the third-straight year.
Team Award Winners
Rookie of the Year – Midfielder Carrie Lawrence
Defensive Player of the Year – Defender Kaleigh Kurtz
Offensive Player of the Year – Forward Savannah McCaskill
Teammates of the Year – Forward Raina Johnson and Defender Carly Ray
Team MVP – Midfielder Stevi Parker
