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Gamecocks Earn Regional Award From United Soccer Coaches
Women's Soccer  . 

Gamecocks Earn Regional Award From United Soccer Coaches

Nov. 21, 2017

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s soccer earned United Soccer Coaches South Regional Coaching Staff of the Year honors, the organization announced Tuesday evening. The accolade marks the second-straight United Soccer Coaches Regional Award for head coach Shelley Smith and Carolina, which received the accolade in 2009 and 2011 before garnering the honor again last fall.

South Carolina, one of six Division I schools to be recognized, will honored at the College Coaches Awards Reception on Jan. 18, 2017, at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown Independence Ballroom. The ceremony will be held in conjunction with the 2018 United Soccer Coaches Convention.

The Regional Staff of the Year honorees will also be placed on the United Soccer Coaches Ballot for the National Staff of the Year award. The ballot will also include the addition of coaching staffs from any schools that advance to the Women’s College Cup.

Voting for the National Staff of the Year will begin on Nov. 27, and conclude on Dec. 5. United Soccer Coaches will announce the Men’s and Women’s National Staff of the Year for all NCAA Divisions on Dec. 19.

South Carolina (18-2-1), which faces third-seeded Florida (17-6-0) in the NCAA Elite Eight Friday, won its second-straight SEC Regular-Season Title after finishing with a league mark of 9-0-1. The fifth-ranked Gamecocks spent 10 weeks inside the top-five of the United Soccer Coaches Poll during the regular season and held the top spot in the NCAA RPI rankings for over a month.

Carolina earned its second-straight NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed this season and clinched its third Elite Eight berth in the last four years after topping Santa Clara 1-0 this past weekend. The Gamecocks have yet to concede a goal in the NCAA Tournament through three rounds, outscoring opponents 5-0 during that stretch.

Kickoff between Carolina and the Gators Friday at Stone Stadium is set for 6 p.m. ET, and the match can be seen on SEC Network+. With a win, Carolina would punch the program’s first ticket to the Women’s College Cup.