Four Gamecocks Named to All-SEC Teams

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s soccer (6-2-0, 6-2-0) had four named to All-SEC teams on Thursday, the conference office announced Thursday. Defender Anna Patten and midfielder Jyllissa Harris both earned their first First Team honor while Lauren Chang was named to the Second Team for the third time in her career while Catherine Barry was named to the All-Freshman Team. 

Forty-eight Gamecocks have now earned All-SEC honors under South Carolina head coach Shelley Smith, while Chang becomes the first Gamecock to win the Scholar Athlete of the Year award since Blakely Mattern in 2009 and is just the second Gamecock to ever win the award.

Patten’s All-SEC First Team honor is the first time she’s been named to an All-Conference First Team in her career. Patten has played nearly every minute for the Gamecocks this season, tying for the most minutes on the team with 709 in eight matches. Patten scored the game-winning penalty kick goal against Vanderbilt in the Gamecocks 2-1 overtime win on the road. Patten has also been a part of two more goals this season with a pair of assists. She assisted Catherine Barry on the game-winning goal vs. Kentucky while also helping the Gamecocks register one of their two shutotus this season.

For Harris, the First Team honor is no surprise as the junior has been progressively moving up the All-SEC teams since she stepped on campus in 2018. Harris was named to the All-Freshman team in 2018 and followed that up with a Second Team honor in 2019. Harris has played 709 minutes this season in the midfield, tied for the most on the team with Patten. Harris scored one of the insurance goals for the Gamecocks against Missouri in the home opener while also assisting on the opening goal against Florida and the gamewinner against Mississippi State. 

Lauren Chang’s Second Team honor marks the third time in her career she’s been named to the second team. Chang leads the Gamecocks with three assists this season, with her assist against Missouri leading the game-winning goal. Chang is the first student-athlete in program history to be named to the All-SEC Second Team three times in one career. Chang’s Scholar Athlete of the Year honor marks just the second time in program history that a Gamecock has won the award (Blakely Mattern, 2009). 

Barry, a true freshman, is the lone Gamecock on the All-Freshman team. The Hingham, Mass., native is the team-leading in goals this season with three, including a pair in her home debut against Missouri. She added another tally against Kentucky, giving her two game-winning goals this season, the most on the team this season. 
 
No. 10 South Carolina (6-2-0, 6-2-0 SEC) heads to Orange Beach, Ala., on Tue., Nov. 17 to take on the winner of Missouri and either Kentucky or Florida. The match begins at 8:30 p.m. ET, and will air on SEC Network.
 
For a full breakdown of the SEC Tournament, visit here. Note, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds are automatically given to the East and West division champions. The standings for the 2020 SEC regular season can be viewed here.
 
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