Gamecocks Host Rival Clemson Saturday Night
#11 Women’s Soccer vs. #8 Clemson
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The 11th-ranked University of South Carolina women’s soccer team (10-3-0, 6-2-0 SEC) hosts rival Clemson on Saturday night in its season finale at Stone Stadium. The match, scheduled for a 6 p.m. kick, will be broadcast on SEC Network + and is sold out with only student tickets remaining.
LAST TIME OUT – ELON
South Carolina women’s soccer (10-3-0, 6-2-0 SEC) powered past Elon on the road on March 25, 3-0 at Rudd Field. The trio of Catherine Barry, Jyllissa Harris and Brianna Behm all scored in the first half to secure the first road victory of the spring.
“It was a great team effort tonight and they earned a hard-fought win against a tough Elon team,” South Carolina head coach Shelley Smith said. “We limited our opponent to just one shot and that comes from a great defensive effort by the whole group. We also capitalized on some early opportunities with some strong offensive possessions that helped us control the game from the start. Overall, it was a strong performance, and we look forward to being back at home for our next match against Clemson.”
Carolina scored early for the second-straight match when Barry notched home her goal in the third minute of the match. Harris’ goal about 20 minutes later separated Carolina from Elon and Behm’s late first-half goal cemented the Gamecocks’ first road win of the 2021 spring season. The backline of Harris, Sutton Jones, Hallie Meadows and Camryn Dixon allowed just one shot the entire match, the lowest amount this season, while Taylor Fox started in goal and sophomore Heather Hinz played the final 45 minutes.
SCOUTING CLEMSON
Clemson (11-4-0, 5-3-0 ACC) enters Saturday contest on a five-match winning streak, six if the Tigers’ exhibition match with Furman on Feb. 20 is included. The Tigers have allowed at least one goal in three of their five matches this spring and hold a 0.729 goals against average this season, the fourth-best among ACC teams this season. Clemson’s offense is paced by Caroline Conti, who as a sophomore midfielder has scored seven goals along with three assists on just 15 shots. Maliah Morris, a sophomore forward, is second on the team in points (14) with five goals and four assists with a team-leading 37 shots this season. Morris is the only Clemson student-athlete to have a goal in their career against South Carolina, scoring the game-winning in the 1-0 Clemson win in 2019. On the defensive end it has been both Hensley Hancuff and Halle Mackiewicz this spring with the two splitting time in goal for Clemson. Mackiewicz has allowed four goals in four appearances as a freshman while Hancuff has allowed seven goals in 10 matches this season, making 42 saves and holding a team-leading goals against average of 0.71.
HARRIS EARNS FIRST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR
South Carolina women’s soccer junior midfielder turned defender Jyllissa Harris was tabbed as the SEC Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career after her performance against Elon, the conference office announced Monday.
The Hazlet, N.J., native extended her scoring streak to three matches on March 25 in the shutout victory over Elon on the road. Harris, who’s primary position is a defensive midfielder, has moved to the center back position this spring, starting in all three matches so far in 2021 and helping the Gamecocks to three-straight clean sheets. Thursday’s clean sheet against Elon was arguably the most impressive this spring with Carolina’s back line allowing just one shot all match on the road. Harris added an insurance goal in the first half for the Gamecocks, helping the team earn a 3-0 win for the third-straight time. South Carolina has now earned a total of seven weekly SEC honors this season and has won each of the three weekly honors at least twice including three Defensive Player of the Week honors won by three different Gamecocks (Sutton Jones, Heather Hinz).
THE SPRING GAMECOCKS
On top of Anna Patten leaving the Gamecocks for the professional ranks the Gamecocks will look different for multiple other reasons. Defenders Sarah Eskew and Caitlyn Leffler both will not be available in the spring due to injury while four additional Gamecocks have moved on from collegiate soccer to pursue internships, graduate or other professional development opportunities. In total Carolina began the spring season with 20 healthy student-athletes.
FRESHMAN PHENOMS
The Gamecocks have had an influx of young talent this season with half of Carolina’s 28 goals this season coming from true freshmen. Catherine Barry leads the way with six this season while Corinna Zullo, Rylee Forster and Ranya Senhaji all scoring multiple goals this season. Midfielder Brianna Behm added her name to the freshman scoring list against Elon, increasing the percentage of points from freshman up to 44.2 percent this season, the second highest percentage in the SEC behind just Texas A&M. Catherine Barry also tied the program’s freshman game-winning goals record, scoring her fourth against Elon to tie herself with Jennie Ondo (1996).
2021 NCAA TOURNAMENT TO BE PLAYED ENTIRELY IN N.C.
On March 25 the Division I Competition Oversight Committee approved a proposal that would consolidate the Division I Women’s Soccer Championships by having all 48 women’s teams compete in Cary, North Carolina, and the surrounding areas.
The move is effective for this year’s women’s soccer championships, which were postponed last fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Selections for the championships will be April 19, and the tournament will conclude with the NCAA College Cup at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. The women’s national semifinals will be May 13, with the national champion being crowned May 17.
STILL WINNING, STILL RANKED
The latest United Soccer Coaches top-25 rankings moved the Gamecocks up to No. 11 in the country after its third-straight 3-0 result, the latest being against Elon on March 25. South Carolina has been ranked in the last 12 national polls that have now returned to the top 25 format after only have the top 15 during the fall portion of the season. Carolina has been in the last 56 United Soccer Coaches Polls that have used the top 25 format.
Three other SEC teams are inside the top 25 with Arkansas sitting at No. 9 followed by Vanderbilt at No. 14 and then Texas A&M at No. 23.
FOUR GAMECOCKS ON NWSL CHALLENGE CUP ROSTERS
The University of South Carolina women’s soccer program will have four players on 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup rosters, the teams announced this week prior to the opening matches on April 9.
Savannah McCaskill (Racing Louisville FC), Kaleigh Kurtz (North Carolina Courage), Taylor Leach (Kansas City) and Tatumn Milazzo (Chicago Red Stars) all were officially announced as members of their respective squads this week. The four former Gamecocks are the most the program has had on NWSL rosters at one time, with Milazzo joining the professional ranks on Monday with her hometown Chicago team.
SAM CHANG CALLED UP FOR INTERNATIONAL DUTY
After making her international debut in Feb., redshirt sophomore Samantha Chang was once again called up to Canada’s Senior National Team for a pair of international friendlies as the squad continues to prepare for the Olympics. Chang will not be back for the Clemson match. Chang has continued to make waves on the international level, making her Senior National Team debut with Canada at the 2021 She Believes Cup against Argentina. After earning the roster spot in camp, the Mississauga, Ontario, native helped the Canadians win their match over Argentina. Chang entered the match in the second half with the score locked at 0-0 and helped keep Argentina out of goal and eventually Canada found the back of the net in extra time.
‘MATTER’ IS THE MINIMUM PATCH
As of July 30, 2020, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved rules to allow student-athletes in all sports to wear patches on their uniforms for commemorative and memorial purposes, as well as to support social justice issues. Student-athletes of the South Carolina women’s soccer program chose to wear patches that read “Matter is the Minimum” on their right sleeve.
The Gamecocks chose to wear these patches because they want to use their platform as student-athletes to take a stand against systemic racism and social injustice. The team does not tolerate any form of racism and injustice and wants to do its part to make a change. Although these patches are small, they stand for a movement that is bigger than any game.
UP NEXT
South Carolina’s final regular season match will be on the road against No. 2 North Carolina. The match is scheduled for April 17 at 1 p.m. in Chapel Hill, N.C.
QUICK NOTES VS. CLEMSON
– The matchup between South Carolina and Clemson is the 27th in history with the home team winning 16 of those matches
– The trip to Columbia, S.C. for the Tigers is roughly 130 miles from Clemson, S.C.
– South Carolina has won three of the last four matchups with the Tigers, with the Gamecocks holding a three-match unbeaten streak at home against their in-state rival
– Midfielder Lauren Chang is the only active Gamecock on the roster to have a goal against Clemson, the senior scored the game-winning goal in 2018 in the 1-0 win for Carolina
– The ranked matchup between the two programs marks the sixth time in the rivalry that the teams will meet while both in the top 25
