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Kentucky sweeps USC volleyball

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:10 EST

At Lexington, Ky., South Carolina (14-14, 5-13 SEC) dropped a 3-0 decision (25-13, 25-19, 25-12) to 10th-ranked Kentucky (27-2, 17-1). ...

Clemson (22-8, 12-6 ACC) defeated Virginia Tech (18-11, 8-10), 3-1 (25-16, 20-25, 25-18, 27-25).

- From Staff Reports

Last-second goal ends USC's soccer season

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:04 EST

Wake Forest's Jill Hutchinson sprinted to the corner as the second-half clock ticked down in Friday's NCAA third-round tournament game against South Carolina.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6 ...

With the Deacons' lining up for a corner kick in a scoreless match that appeared headed to overtime, Hutchinson quickly placed the ball on the ground and lofted it to the front of USC's net.

5, 4, 3, 2 ...

There, Bess Harrington had positioned herself for a header as the ball hung in the air. And with a flick of her head at the 89:59 mark - one second before the end of regulation - she scored the goal that stunningly ended USC's greatest season before a record women's soccer crowd of 4,347 at Stone Stadium on Friday night.

USC women's soccer team bonds, wins despite differences

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:51 EST

Following the South Carolina women's soccer team requires more than a roster. An atlas comes in handy, too.

The goalkeeper hails from Ohio. The leading scorer calls Florida home. The co-captain playing midfield is a New Yorker. The four-time All-SEC defender stayed in state. The Rhoades sisters are from Delaware. In all, the 11 starters have converged in Columbia from nine states, with Georgia, Connecticut, Kentucky and Pennsylvania also in the mix.

Survey the 30-player roster, and 15 states - including California and Washington - and one other country, Canada, are represented. As the Gamecocks prepare to play Wake Forest tonight at Stone Stadium in the third round of the NCAA tournament, one thing is as clear as the voice on your GPS:

A national recruiting effort equals national prominence.

"We've always known that," said USC coach Shelley Smith, who scours the nation with her top recruiter, her husband and associate head coach Jamie Smith. "We try to find the best players we can. That's always been our goal."

ACC stands in the way of USC success

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:59 EST

South Carolina's road to the final four in women's soccer will go through the Atlantic Coast Conference.

If the Gamecocks are to make it to the College Cup in College Station, Texas, they must first defeat Wake Forest on Friday at Stone Stadium and then the winner of the UNC-Maryland game next weekend.

"We have a lot of respect for the ACC," USC senior midfielder Lindsay Small said. "They bring a lot of good soccer to the table. When people think of women's soccer, they think of UNC and the ACC."

The ACC has seven teams in the round of 16 - Wake Forest, UNC, Maryland, Florida State, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Boston College. USC (19-3-2) remains the only SEC team out of the six that made the 64-team field still playing.

"I'm kind of surprised Florida lost. Our conference has been so strong," USC sophomore defender Ellen Fahey said. "I know the ACC has always been a really strong conference, and I'm really excited to go up against these good, hard teams and get the challenge of playing them."

Mattern named Academic All-American

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:27 EST

South Carolina senior defender Blakely Mattern has been named a CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American first-team selection for the second consecutive year

Mattern, of Simponville, holds a 3.986 GPA. The Lowe's Senior CLASS Award finalist and 2009 SEC tournament MVP is a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll and is pursuing a degree in international business.

USC soccer headed to Sweet 16

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:15 EST

Blakely Mattern still cannot believe how the USC women’s soccer team’s season is falling into place.

After Sunday’s 1-0 victory against Rutgers at Stone Stadium, the Gamecocks have posted two shutouts in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.

“You couldn’t write it up any better,” said the senior defender. “To get two shutouts in the NCAA’s is saying something. Every team that gets here is a good team.”

With the win, the Gamecocks (19-3-2) advance to the third round against Wake Forest (15-5-2). The site will be announced today, but it is likely the Gamecocks will host Friday night.

Defeating a battle-tested Rutgers team (14-4-4) in front of 2,724 fans proved something else, too.

Morris: Mocking USC doesn’t pay off for Rutgers

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:15 EST

Rutgers ruffled the wrong feathers Sunday before facing South Carolina in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Rutgers’ players mockingly sang what has become USC’s theme music during a season that has carried the Gamecocks to a top-10 national ranking and its first SEC tournament title.

“Teams are going down, down, down. Teams are going down, down, down.”

Little did Rutgers know, its words were music to the ears of coach Shelley Smith’s team.

“I think teams should realize by now, they shouldn’t make fun of us, shouldn’t laugh at us, shouldn’t joke about us because that just drives us even more,” said Blakely Mattern, USC’s outstanding defensive player. “We don’t say much to the other team. We don’t say anything. We take what they’re going to do and use it as motivation.

USC, Rutgers expect a defensive battle

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:45 EST

Shelley Smith knows her USC women's soccer team's first-ever NCAA victory Friday night is not the end of a journey.

"We want this season to go as long as possible," Smith said.

The Gamecocks (18-3-2) get another chance to keep playing at 1 p.m. today, when they face Rutgers (14-3-4) in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Stone Stadium. A win and USC will get one more chance to play at home next weekend.

But that's going to be a more difficult task than the 4-0 victory against Davidson proved to be. The Scarlet Knights, an at-large entrant from the Big East, are a tournament-savvy team that spent the entire season in the Top 25.

"You know they've played in a tough conference week-in and week-out like we have," Smith said. "When you have a battle every weekend, you're prepared for NCAA play. This is what the NCAA is all about. You know in a second-round game that you're going to have that much more of a challenge."

Gamecocks make history with NCAA win

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:50 EST

South Carolina accomplished something Friday night it had not done previously in 15 seasons of playing women's soccer. With a 4-0 victory against Davidson at Stone Stadium, the Gamecocks won an NCAA tournament game.

It occurred in the program's fourth trip to the tournament, with home-field advantage proving beneficial; first-round exits in 1998 and each of the past two seasons came on the road.

This win proved to be sweet vindication.

"It's a great feeling, and we want to enjoy it as long as we can," said junior forward Brooke Jacobs, who scored the game's only first-half goal. "We just made history, and everyone is so happy."

USC (18-3-2) advances to play Rutgers (14-3-4), which defeated Duke 2-0 in the first game Friday, at 1 p.m. Sunday.

USC sweeps S.C. State in volleyball

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:09 EST

At Orangeburg, Hannah Lawing had 14 kills, and Megan Laughlin added 12 as the Gamecocks (14-12) swept past South Carolina State (13-19), 25-18, 25-17, 25-17 in Dukes Gymnasium.

The junior duo also hit well, with Lawing leading the way with a career-best .522 mark. Senior libero Sarah Cline bested all players with 19 digs. Jarne Gleaton led the Bulldogs with seven kills, while Lauren Harris had 13 digs.

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SOFTBALL

USC signs Florida standout

USC goalkeeper able to 'come up big'

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:26 EST

Mollie Patton is easy to spot on the soccer field. Of course, with the prominence of the position she plays, most goalkeepers are.

But there's something extra about the USC keeper that makes her stand out even more.

Her helmet.

Patton's headgear protects her after a pair of severe concussions - the first sustained in her junior year in high school and the second in her freshman year at USC - sidelined the redshirt junior's collegiate career for an additional season.

Since her return in 2008, the helmet hasn't slowed her from putting together two of the best seasons for goalkeepers in USC's 15-year history.

Veteran squad eyes NCAA gold

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:56 EST

South Carolina's trips to the NCAA women's soccer tournaments the past two seasons ended quickly.

But dropping first-round matches to Duke on penalty kicks in 2007 and to William & Mary in overtime last season showed the returning Gamecocks what they need to do to advance this time around.

Senior midfielder Kim Miller, the co-captain from Farmingdale, N.Y., believes this group of players is ready to go where the others did not.

"There's something about us that we don't give up," Miller said. "I don't know if it's that we're stubborn and we refuse to lose. There's just something inside of us."

The Gamecocks, who compiled their best-ever season at 17-3-2, won their first SEC tournament title by avenging their only three regular-season losses. By beating Georgia, Florida and LSU, they displayed the kind of talent and determination that's going to be necessary to win in the NCAA tournament. They play Davidson (12-9-1), the Southern Conference tournament champions, at 7 p.m. tonight at Stone Stadium.

Morris: Soccer championship all in the family

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:34 EST

From a handshake with an athletics director in a Rhode Island airport to a hug from an athletics director on a soccer field in Alabama, the road to a championship has been long and arduous for Shelley Smith.

In between taking the South Carolina women's soccer coaching job nine years ago and winning the Southeastern Conference title Sunday, Smith also had a meeting with the athletics director about the future of her program and whether she would be part of it.

Let's start in the middle of the journey. Eric Hyman arrived at USC in the summer of 2005 and began evaluating his head coaches. He knew little about Smith other than that she had an unusual relationship with her assistant coach - her husband, Jamie Smith.

All Hyman had to go on in evaluating Smith was her record in four seasons at USC, and that was nothing to boast about. Her teams were 39-31-10, including an 11-20-7 record in SEC play. Two of her teams qualified for the SEC tournament, and both bowed out in the first round.

"She was struggling." Hyman says. "She had made progress, and she needed to continue to make progress. Sometimes those conversations can be tough. ... As a coach, you've got to create hope in the program. Up to that point, it was real sketchy, at best. I can put up with a lot, but you've got to have hope."

Gamecocks earn No. 2 seed, face Davidson

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:09 EST

The South Carolina's women's soccer team knew it was going to receive its third consecutive bid to the NCAA tournament. And the Gamecocks knew they probably would draw one of the 16 host sites for the first time.

But until the big-screen televisions at the Ale House in the Vista flashed the brackets that showed USC playing host to Davidson, Duke and Rutgers this weekend, the coaches and players waited to let out the loud collective cheer that greeted the history-making moment.

"I was nervous the entire time," three-time first-team All-SEC senior defender Blakely Mattern said. "I was still sweating it out."

The feeling of being a No. 2 seed in the UNC bracket - and one of the top eight national seeds - was a feeling too good to describe for the program's signature player, who has played a huge role in the program's progress.

"It's unbelievable," she said. "My dreams have come true to the fullest extent possible."

Gamecock standout thinks team can make history

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:09 EST

Kayla Grimsley came to the University of South Carolina to become an SEC champion. The sophomore from Lakeland, Fla., did it more quickly than she imagined.

The USC women's soccer team captured its first SEC tournament title by sweeping Georgia, Florida and LSU over the weekend in Orange Beach, Ala. After avenging their three regular-season losses, the Gamecocks will host an NCAA regional this weekend.

The Gamecocks will play host to Davidson at 7 p.m. Friday at Stone Stadium.

Although they earned an NCAA bid the past two seasons - exiting both times after narrow losses in the first round - this team is poised to make the same kind of run nationally that it did in the SEC.

Getting top-notch players such as Grimsley has helped the Gamecocks (17-3-2) climb to the top rung of the conference ladder. Grimsley has scored a team-high 11 goals to go with six assists, earning her recognition as a unanimous first-team All-SEC performer.

Volleyball falls to Georgia 3-0

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:55 EST

Junior Megan Laughlin and senior Ivana Kujundzic led USC with 10 kills each, but the Gamecocks lost to Georgia, falling in three sets, 25-27, 26-28, 26-28, at the Volleyball Competition Facility on Sunday.

The Gamecocks fall to 13-12 overall, 5-11 in the SEC while Georgia improves to 15-11 and 6-9.

- From staff reports

Soccer: Women win SEC title

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:09 EST

Losing to LSU in the regular season kept South Carolina’s women’s soccer team from the SEC regular-season championship.

The Gamecocks got their revenge Sunday.

USC’s Blakely Mattern scored with two minutes remaining in the game to force overtime, and goalie Mollie Patton made a save in the fourth round of sudden-death penalty kicks as the Gamecocks beat LSU on penalties, 8-7, to win the program’s first SEC tournament championship.

“I’m speechless,” Mattern said. “My team has fought so hard since we’ve been here and all season to get to this point. To be down a goal and to come back with two minutes left shows heart. That’s what we’ve shown all week. I’m so proud of our team and how hard we worked to never give up. I knew it was in us, and I knew we could win.”

Patton dived to her left to stop the shot by Chelsea Potts in the fourth sudden-death round. The teams were tied 4-4 after five regulation rounds.

USC poised to make soccer history

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:55 EST

ORANGE BEACH, Fla. - South Carolina's women's soccer team will play for its first SEC championship today against LSU at 3:30 p.m. on ESPNU.

USC is the fourth seed in the tournament, while LSU is the second seed. LSU won the regular-season meeting between the teams, 1-0, two weeks ago.

South Carolina advanced to the championship game with a 1-0 victory against Florida on Friday night in the semifinals. Kim Miller scored on a penalty kick in the 11th minute while Mollie Patton recorded her 13th shutout of the season.

Two nights earlier in the quarterfinals, USC scored twice in the final 10 minutes to beat Georgia, 3-2.

Both of USC's victories avenged losses in the regular season. Friday's victory was USC's second ever against Florida. Wednesday's quarterfinal victory against Georgia was the first against the Bulldogs since 2006.

USC advances to SEC soccer finals

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:17 EST

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. - Kim Miller converted a penalty kick in the 11th minute, and South Carolina shut out top-seeded Florida 1-0 to advance to the program's first SEC tournament championship game.

The win was the second ever against the Gators.

A first-time champion will be crowned Sunday when second-seeded LSU faces the Gamecocks in the nationally televised game at 3:30 p.m. Neither program has played for the title, and South Carolina will look to knock off the third and final team during the tournament that earned a victory against USC in the regular season.

Miller hit her penalty kick at 10:36 after Lindsay Small was taken down in the box. The penalty kick was her second in as many games; senior All-SEC performer had one blocked in the first half against Georgia in the quarterfinals.

"Lindsay Small did a good job to get in the box," Miller said. "I missed a PK yesterday when (Georgia's) Michelle Betos made a great save. Today I had confidence in myself and so did my teammates. I knew I'd get it in. I knew how much this one means to the team. I was focused and hit it where I wanted it to go."

Wait 'til next season

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:38 EST

Sam Arthur's junior season will probably end earlier than he wanted.

With a 0-4-1 slide in the past five matches, the USC men's soccer team will not make the Conference USA four-team tournament, which means USC must win Saturday's match at Memphis to be a longshot to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

Arthur cited key injuries, illnesses and tough luck as factors that have worked against USC (7-7-3).

"In any of the conference games, it's going to be a battle. Everybody in the conference can play. A lot has to do with the way the ball bounces," Arthur said. "It seems like we had a tough spell where we couldn't get the breaks we needed. That turned out to be the difference in our close games."

Arthur's frustration in part has to do with the lack of scoring in those past five matches, when the Gamecocks have netted one goal. His last goal came in a 3-2 double overtime victory against SMU.