Women's Soccer . September 19, 2018

Gamecocks Prepped for Big SEC Weekend

#13 Women’s Soccer at Mississippi St./vs Kentucky

Match Info

Opponent(s): Mississippi St./Kentucky

Date: Sept. 20, 2018/Sept. 23, 2018

Kickoff: 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. ET

Location: Starkville, Miss./Columbia, S.C.

Stadium: MSU Soccer Field/Stone Stadium

Live Stats: HailState.com/GamecocksOnline.com

Recent Headlines

Krzeczowski Earns National Player of the Week Honor
Smith Family Reflects on Climb to the Top
Gamecocks Defeat No. 11 Tennessee, 2-0

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Time/Result
8/11	vs USF (Exh.)	T, 0-0
8/17	vs Fordham	W, 1-0
8/19	vs College of Charleston	W, 2-0
8/23	vs Clemson	W, 1-0
8/26	at #16 NC State	L, 2-1
8/30	at William & Mary	Cancelled
9/2	vs Purdue	W, 2-1
9/6	vs Wake Forest	W, 2-0
9/9	Coastal Carolina	W, 3-0
9/16	at #11 Tennessee	W, 2-0
9/20	at Mississippi St.	7:00 p.m. ET
9/23	vs Kentucky	5:00 p.m. ET
9/28	vs #9 Auburn	7:00 p.m. ET
10/4	at Georgia	7:00 p.m. ET
10/7	vs Florida	3:00 p.m. ET
10/12	at Vanderbilt	8:00 p.m. ET
10/18	vs Missouri	6:30 p.m. ET
10/21	at LSU	1:00 p.m. ET
10/25	vs #2 Texas A&M	6:30 p.m. ET

COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 13 South Carolina is set to begin a big weekend in the SEC with Mississippi State on Thurs., Sept. 20 on the road followed by Kentucky at home on Sun., Sept. 23 at 5:00 p.m. on ESPNU.

LAST TIME OUT – TENNESSEE
No. 13 South Carolina began its SEC conference season with an upset victory over then-No. 11 Tennessee, 2-0, in Knoxville. The Gamecocks came out firing early and took the lead on Lauren Chang’s goal just eight minutes into the match, the fastest goal the Gamecocks have scored this season.

Chang’s goal came off the first corner kick of the game for the Gamecocks. With a windy environment, Chang bent the ball into the back of the net and had South Carolina celebrating.

Later in the match, freshman Riley Tanner added insurance for South Carolina. In the second half, sophomore Ryan Gareis sent a cross into the box where Simone Wark flew in to put a touch on the ball before Tanner finished off the second goal of the match.

With the win, South Carolina now is on its longest winning streak of the season at four. During that stretch, Mikayla Krzeczowski has played a big role, shutting out the past three opponents and making an impressive seven saves against Tennessee.

“I’m just very proud of our team,” South Carolina head coach Shelley Smith said. “Handling the adversity of coming out here early and the weather, they did such a good job focusing on the game and getting the job done. They controlled what they could control. We proved that we are a very good team, and we can win on the road and at home.”

SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE
The Bulldogs enter Thursday’s matchup with South Carolina with a 7-1-0 record. Mississippi State is coming off its first loss of the season to the hands of No. 9 Auburn on the road, 3-0.

The Bulldogs have scored the fifth-most goals in the SEC this season at 23, and are third in goals per match at 2.88 behind undefeated Auburn and Texas A&M. That offense is led by MaKayla Waldner and Zakirah McGillivary who have six and five goals this season, respectively. McGillivary, who is a freshman, was named SEC Freshman of the Week back on Aug. 27 for her two-goal and one-assist performance against Memphis and South Alabama.

Defensively, the Bulldogs have had Rhylee DeCrane in goal in all eight games. She has allowed four goals and made 17 saves. The redshirt senior has played in 26 matches in her career, starting 21. She holds a career record of 10-11-0.

Mississippi State was selected to finish 12th in the SEC in the preseason coaches’ poll.

SCOUTING KENTUCKY
With a 4-6-0 record this season, Kentucky will have a tough weekend ahead with preseason favorite Florida on Thu., Sept. 20, before taking on South Carolina on Sunday in Columbia on ESPNU. Kentucky is coming off a loss against Lipscomb University, 2-1, in Nashville, Tenn.

Kentucky has lost four of its six matches this season by one goal, including an overtime loss to rival Louisville back in August. Sophomore Yuuka Kurosaki has been Kentucky’s biggest offensive threat with four goals this season. She has put nine of her 20 shots on target this season and three of her goals have been game winners. Sophomore Hollie Olding has also netted three goals this season, good enough for second most on the team, with eight of her 14 shots on target.

Hannah Leonard has played every minute in goal for the Wildcats. She has allowed 17 goals this season, and made 40 saves. The freshman keeper earned her first clean sheet against Furman, making five saves in the contest.

Kentucky was selected to finish 13th in the SEC in the preseason coaches’ poll.

MAKING ADJUSTMENTS
Eight of South Carolina’s 12 goals this season have come in the second half. On top of that, the Gamecocks’ defense has been stellar in the first half allowing zero goals. South Carolina has been able to keep the opportunities fairly similar between the two halves of play with 40 in the first half and 51 in the second half.

THE FISK FACTOR
After returning to South Carolina after her time with her native country England at the U20 Women’s World Cup, junior captain Grace Fisk has helped the Gamecocks to a 4-0-0 record.

The defender has played in the past four matches, starting in the past three. In those outings, the Gamecocks have allowed just one goal and have scored nine. She has also been a factor on the offensive end, putting up five shots in four matches, with four on target. In the three non-conference matches in which Fisk appeared, the Gamecocks allowed an average of 4.33 shots per game.

TIME TO DEFEND THE ‘SHIP(S)
South Carolina has won the SEC in each of the past two seasons. Just seven of the 34 Gamecocks on the roster have been a part of both championship teams.

During that span, South Carolina holds a 21-0-1 conference record, and going back to 2015, the Gamecocks’ unbeaten streak in SEC play is at 24 games. That streak is the longest in SEC play in South Carolina women’s soccer history.

GAMECOCKS IN THE POLLS
On Tuesday afternoon, the weekly United Soccer Coaches poll was released with the Gamecocks jumping up to No. 13 after defeating then-No. 11 Tennessee 2-0 last Sunday. In the Top Drawer Soccer poll, Carolina moved up to No. 6.

FLYING OUT THE GATES
This season South Carolina has allowed just three goals and is the only team in the SEC to not allow a goal in the first half. Through eight matches, the Gamecocks have allowed just 22 shots in the first half.

SEC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
South Carolina goalkeeper Mikayla Krzeczowski earned the SEC Defensive Player of the Week honor after the junior helped the Gamecocks shutout of No. 11 Tennessee on Sunday, making a season-high seven saves.With the clean sheet, she now is tied with South Carolina great Sabrina D’Angelo with 29 shutouts in her career, just two away from the record of 31 held by Mollie Patton.

UP NEXT
With a pair of SEC matches on the schedule this week, the Gamecocks will play just once next week. The highly-anticipated match against Auburn will likely see both teams ranked in the top 25. The match is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. ET on Fri., Sept. 28, at Stone Stadium in Columbia, S.C.