No. 3 Gamecocks Aim For 10th-Staight Win Sunday Against Arkansas
Oct. 7, 2017
#3 Women’s Soccer at Arkansas
COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 3 South Carolina women’s soccer (11-1-0, 5-0-0 SEC) continues SEC play this weekend when it faces Arkansas (7-6-1, 2-2-1 SEC) on the road on Sun., Oct. 8. Kickoff from Razorback Field is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET, and the match will air on ESPNU. A victory over the Razorbacks would give Carolina a double-digit winning streak for the second-straight season.
FROM THE COACH
“Road games in our conference are difficult, but we are glad to be coming off a win at home. Our team showed great determination and resilience Thursday, and we must continue to play that way against each opponent. We understand we are going to get everyone’s best effort, and we must be prepared to compete and perform. I have been impressed by the character and attitude of our team and the way they have responded to challenges. Arkansas will be a difficult opponent, and we hope to continue to find a way to get a result in SEC play.” — South Carolina women’s soccer coach Shelley Smith
SCOUTING ARKANSAS
The Razorbacks earned their second win in SEC play this past Thursday when they topped Auburn 2-0 on the road. Arkansas, which sports a mark of 5-2-0 in home matches in 2017, will return to action at Razorback Field for the first time since its 1-0 loss to then-No. 20 Ole Miss on Sept. 24.
Freshman forward Parker Goins leads the Arkansas attack with 18 points on seven goals and four assists, while sophomore midfielder Stefani Doyle (13) and senior midfielder Katie Kienstra (10) mark the other two players on the team with double-digit points for the season. The Razorbacks rank fifth in NCAA Division I and second in the SEC in goals (34) and points (104), and their 18.64 shots per match are good for the 12th-highest total nationally. Redshirt junior Jordan Harris and freshman Rachel Harris have split time in net for an Arkansas squad that is 10th in the conference with a 1.112 goals against average.
Carolina, which is unbeaten in its last 11 matches against the Razorbacks, sports an all-time mark of 12-3-3 in the series. The Gamecocks are 5-1-3 when facing Arkansas on the road, with their only loss coming in the first meeting between the two in 1995.
LAST TIME OUT
Freshman forward Luciana Zullo found the back of the net in the 95th minute to give South Carolina a dramatic 3-2 overtime victory over Mississippi State Thursday night at Stone Stadium.
Zullo’s heroics capped off a back-and-forth battle that was highlighted by a pair of goals in the final 10 minutes of regulation. After the Bulldogs went ahead 2-1 in the 81st minute, Carolina responded 66 seconds later when Zullo cleaned up a rebound in the box. Gamecock senior standout Savannah McCaskill created the chance, sending a header off the crossbar.
MSU grabbed a 1-0 advantage in the early going, and Carolina finally notched the equalizer in the 50th minute when sophomore center back Grace Fisk used her right foot to pop the ball up to herself before chipping it home into the left side of the net.
Carolina boasted a 20-4 shot advantage for the match and attempted three of the game’s four corner kicks.
WE’RE NUMBER ONE
Carolina remained atop the Women’s Soccer RPI rankings this week, the NCAA announced Monday. The Gamecocks earned the program’s highest spot in the rankings after debuting at No. 1 on Sept. 18. South Carolina spent eight weeks ranked inside the RPI top-five last season, earning a top-three listing four times throughout the stretch.
Stanford (2), North Carolina (3), Duke (4) and UCF (5) rounded out the top-five in Monday’s ranking. The Gamecocks, who moved past the Knights 2-0 in their season opener on Aug. 18, boast five wins against teams currently ranked inside the top-25 of the RPI.
STAYING POWER
South Carolina stayed at No. 3 in Tuesday’s United Soccer Coaches Poll. The Gamecocks, who have spent five weeks inside the top-five this season, have been positioned in the top-15 in each of the last 19 installments of the poll dating back to last year. South Carolina has earned a top-10 ranking 15 times over that stretch. The Gamecocks entered the fall with the program’s highest preseason spot after being listed at No. 4 in August.
STREAKING IN THE SEC
The Gamecocks have won a program-record 17-straight games in SEC regular-season play in a streak that dates back to 2015. South Carolina closed its 2015 conference slate with a 4-0 victory over Tennessee before posting a perfect 11-0-0 mark in league play last fall en route to the 2016 SEC Regular-Season Title. The Gamecocks notched a shutout in 13 of the 17 wins.
REGULAR SEASON WARRIORS
Carolina boasts a mark of 28-1-1 over its last 30 regular-season matches in a stretch that dates back to the start of the 2016 season. The Gamecocks have notched victories over seven ranked opponents during that time, and 13 of their wins have come by at least two goals. Carolina has outscored its foes 61-14 over the stretch.
NO GOALS FOR YOU
South Carolina has allowed a conference-best two goals in SEC play this season. The Gamecocks have notched clean sheets in seven of their last nine matches, allowing just two goals over that stretch. Carolina, which has conceded more than one goal just twice in 2017, ranks first in the league with a 0.57 goals against average for the season. The Gamecocks have allowed three or less shots on target seven times for the year.
GUTTING IT OUT
Seven of Carolina’s victories during its nine-match winning streak have been by one goal, and three of the wins have come in overtime. The Gamecocks have netted the game-winner in the final 15 minutes of a match five times during the stretch.
FRESHMAN FIREPOWER
Carolina’s freshman class has made an instant impact on the Gamecock attack, accounting for 10 of the team’s 21 goals in 2017. A freshman has notched the game-winner in five of South Carolina’s last nine victories, and six first-year players have recorded a point this fall. Forward Luciana Zullo ranks second on the team in game-winners (2) and third in goals (3) and points (8), while midfielder Breukelen Woodard is one of three Gamecocks with multiple assists on the year. Fellow freshmen Bianca Galassini, Lauren Chang and Ryan Gareis are fourth on the team with two goals.
LOOKING TO PASS
Gamecock senior striker Savannah McCaskill has served as the primary catalyst to the Carolina attack this season, logging a team-high seven assists. Her assist total ranks seventh in NCAA Division I and first in the SEC, and four of her helpers in 2017 have set up a game-winning tally. McCaskill’s 32 career assists are eight shy of the all-time program record.
UP NEXT
The Gamecocks return to action next week when they host Vanderbilt on Sun., Oct. 15, at Stone Stadium. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. ET, and the match can be seen on SEC Network.
