Women's Soccer Ready For National Stage
#15 Women’s Soccer vs. #21 NC State/William and Mary
COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 15 South Carolina women’s soccer takes on No. 21 NC State on Thur., Aug. 22, at 7 p.m. on SEC Network in a highly-anticipated season opener. The Gamecocks will then take on William and Mary on Sun., Aug. 25, at 7 p.m. to wrap up their opening weekend.
CAROLINA IN THE PRESEASON
Announced on August 13, the Gamecocks were picked second in the SEC preseason poll. The second-place selection is the Gamecocks’ highest preseason projection since divisions were eliminated after the 2013 season.
The Gamecocks sit just behind preseason favorite Texas A&M and are in front of 2018 regular-season champion Vanderbilt, which ranks third, followed by Tennessee and Florida to round out the preseason top five.
In the three national polls, Carolina sits at No. 15 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, No. 16 in the TopDrawerSoccer.com poll and No. 19 in the Soccer America poll. The No. 15 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches poll is the third-straight season where Carolina has started the season in the top 15.
“We’re really excited to get this season started. We know the SEC is a tough conference top to bottom, and we will be challenged all season long,” head coach Shelley Smith said. “We are thankful for the respect, but now we want to make sure we go out and earn that respect and ranking throughout the season.”
QUICK 2018 GAMECOCK RECAP
In 2018, the Gamecocks reached the NCAA Second Round as a No. 3 seed, falling to the No. 2 seed, Penn State. The Gamecocks finished in a tie for third in the SEC regular season and appeared in the SEC Tournament semifinals.
Carolina finished with a home record of 11-1-0 during the season, extending its impressive home record to 44-4-1 in the past 49 matches. The Gamecocks defeated three ranked teams, and six NCAA Tournament teams, highlighted by a 2-0 win over No. 11 Tennessee on the road.
Lauren Chang was the leading scorer, scoring eight goals during the season, which included three game-winning goals against rival Clemson, No. 11 Tennessee and in the NCAA Tournament against UNCG. Grace Fisk once again was honored as the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first Gamecock to earn the award in consecutive seasons.
SCOUTING No. 21 NC STATE
Last season the Wolfpack finished with an overall record of 11-7-4 and reached the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament with an upset win over No. 7 Santa Clara on penalty kicks, 5-4. Led by Tziarra King in 2018, the midfielder scored 10 goals and had six assists for NC State for a team-high 26 points. Kia Rankin also returns, a five goal scorer, including four game-winning goals, the Wolfpack will have a strong returning core as they enter the 2018 season in the top 25 every major preseason national poll.
SCOUTING WILLIAM AND MARY
Just two seasons removed from the longest NCAA streak of seasons with a winning record (36, 1981-2016), the Tribe look to return to the top of the Colonial Athletic Association in 2019. The team returns Sarah Segan, its top scorer in 2018, along with eight of its starters. The Tribe were selected to finish sixth in the preseason poll by a vote of league head coaches.
PATTEN TO REPRESENT ENGLAND
Newcomer Anna Patten was named to the 25-player squad for England’s Senior National Team international friendlies with Belgium and Norway from Aug. 25 until Sept. 3. Patten will miss at least three matches with the Gamecocks during that time. A mainstay in England’s Youth National teams, Patten has been a part of U15, U17, U18, U19 and U20 levels, playing over 40 matches for England. The junior from Harpenden, England, joined the Gamecocks after two seasons with Florida State, where she was a part of the 2018 NCAA National Championship.
WHO’S BACK
The Gamecocks return nine starters from its final match of the 2018 season. Last season, the Gamecock fielded one of the youngest teams in the country with 26 underclassmen. This season Carolina will have a total of 16 underclassmen, along with five seniors and nine juniors. Carolina will be led by its five seniors who all have started at least 20 matches in their career.
UP NEXT
The first road test will be in front of the Gamecocks after its two opening matches at Stone Stadium. Carolina takes on Jacksonville University on Aug. 28, at 7 p.m. before returning home for a matchup with College of Charleston on Sept. 1, at 7 p.m.
QUICK NOTES
– South Carolina owns a 15-6-3 record all-time in season openers
– Mikayla Krzeczowski’s 34 career shutouts ranks her No. 1 in active career shutouts in the NCAA (Division I)
– Krzeczowski also enters with the most shutouts in South Carolina history and SEC history
– Last season, the Gamecocks shutout percentage was ranked 15th in the NCAA out of 325 teams, and first in the SEC at 57.1 percent
– Thursday’s season opener marks the first match that Grace Fisk and Anna Patten will be paired together in a Gamecock uniform
– On Aug. 1, captain Grace Fisk was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy watch list, an award given to the top women’s soccer player in NCAA Division I
