Gamecocks Handle Samford in NCAA Tournament Opener
COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 5 South Carolina (17-1-3, 7-0-3 SEC) defeated Samford (10-4-5, 7-1-1 SoCon) 3-0 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night. Samantha Chang, Luciana Zullo and Riley Tanner all contributed goals helping Carolina advance to the second round for the fourth straight year.
“Well obviously, we’re pleased to be here on the winning side of things,” South Carolina head coach Shelley Smith said. “It was a great match. A lot of credit to Samford and congratulations to them on a great season. Of course, in NCAAs someone can’t move on but all the respect in the world for Coach Yelton and his staff and his team and wish them the best. We’re obviously very pleased to be moving on. Very happy with the performance overall by our team and we’re excited to be at home again this coming weekend.”
Samantha Chang’s goal is the first gamewinner of her career and her second this season. The SEC All-Freshman performer was assisted by Tanner in the 40th minute. The goal was setup by Tanner who used nifty footwork before slotting a pass to Samantha Chang who finished it with a blast from point blank range.
With the halftime lead the Gamecocks looked to add insurance in the second half and it came just nine minutes into the second half in the 54th. Zullo squared herself up and blasted home her team-leading sixth goal of the season to put Carolina on top 2-0.
With the win in sight, the Gamecocks left no doubt with Tanner’s goal in the 81st. Tanner hammered the goal from right in front of the net after a spectacular setup from Lauren Chang. The multi-point match for Tanner is the first of her career.
The defense was once again the strength of the Gamecocks all night. Allowing just three shots the entire 90 minutes, Mikayla Krzeczowski earned her 48th career shutout to move into a tie for the third-most shutouts in NCAA women’s soccer history.
“We did a really good job of scouting this week and kind of knew what they were going to come at us,” Krzeczowski said after the match. “We made sure we didn’t give them any counters or anything like that and making sure we got numbers behind the ball. The team did a great job putting their bodies on the line and clearing balls in the air all night.”
The 2019 Division I women’s soccer tournament continues next weekend from Nov. 22-24. The Gamecocks will host the second and third rounds with Xavier and Kansas already punching their tickets to Columbia. Notre Dame and Saint Louis will face one another on Sunday to determine the four institutions who will battle for a trip to the Elite Eight.
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