How Gamecocks’ pro soccer players say USC experience set them up for next level
The 2021 college season saw the South Carolina women’s soccer team add another 14 wins to head coach Shelley Smith’s growing career win total, including a trip to the NCAA tournament quarterfinals.
The end of the season also saw another Gamecock make the jump to the pros when Ryan Gareis was drafted by the Houston Dash in the fourth round of the 2022 National Women’s Soccer League Draft. With the pick, Gareis joined four other former Gamecocks in the NWSL and became one of 10 former Gamecocks who currently play professionally around the world
Gareis said she’s proud to represent the garnet and black on the national stage, but gives credit to Smith for helping her and others get to where they are today.
“I think that it’s so great for the program and it shows how much Shelley has grown this program,” Gareis told The State. “You see more and more girls from the program going into different professional leagues, and I think that’s so cool. And such a testament to her and kind of the standards that she puts in place.”
This praise from Gareis for the South Carolina coaching staff rings true with several other former Gamecocks.
“Shelly does a really good job of preparing everyone, not only soccer-wise, but like personality and life lessons type of thing,” Tatumn Milazzo said. “I think it’s definitely heading in the right direction. So it’s exciting that hopefully more people will come out of the school and play in the league.”
Milazzo played for South Carolina from 2016 to 2019 and is now a member of the Chicago Red Stars in the NWSL.
Taylor Leach, who played for South Carolina from 2010 to 2014, is the most experienced of former Gamecocks in the NWSL. After leaving Columbia she played pro ball in Sweden before returning to the United States, making her NWSL debut in 2020 with the Utah Royals. Leach now plays for the Kansas City Current.
Like Milazzo, Leach emphasized how Smith and her husband/associate head coach Jamie Smith helped her develop into a pro off and on the field.
“I think the biggest thing that I took away from my college years playing under them was more of honestly things outside of soccer,” Leach told The State. “They taught me how to be professional and how to lead. ... Just dealing through things that you’re gonna have to deal with at any level and especially at the pro level.”
As for what the secret is for helping get her players to the next level and developing pro-level talent, Smith said it’s reminding them to do the “little things.”
“It’s just little reminders that you have, that I think helps them when they get into the pro level and they’re not the best player on the field anymore,” Smith told The State. “They just jumped into a whole ’nother level and like, how do I play my role and support these others but do everything I can to be my best, and I think that’s helped them.”
While Smith can teach the skills the players need to succeed, not everyone will make it to the next level. The ones who do, though, have the drive and ability to play at the highest level, Smith said.
“I think it says a lot about the players’ determination they have to keep playing,” Smith said. “I always tell them play as long as you can, if you want to, because you can’t get that back later.”
Though the 2022 NWSL season is relatively young, former Gamecocks have already crossed paths on the pitch. And while there might not be any jersey swaps, rest assured there is still a sense of camaraderie between the players.
“I immediately go up and (say) ‘Hey, go Cocks’ or whatever the case may be and we take a picture,” Leach said. ”It’s really cool to see our school succeeding as far as getting players in the league and obviously abroad.”
Milazzo and Gareis, who played with each other for three seasons, got to compete against one another in May during the NWSL’s Challenge Cup.
“It’s really cool, especially to see her mom and our parents after the games, and it’s just like a really nice moment to have because we did know each other in high school growing up and then playing college and then now,” Milazzo said.
As for the future of the program, Smith expects more Gamecocks to follow in the footsteps of the current pros, giving shoutouts to young players such as Catherine Barry, Jyllissa Harris and Heather Hinz.
GAMECOCKS IN THE PROS
- Ryan Gareis, Houston Dash of NWSL
- Savannah McCaskill, Angel City of the NWSL
- Tatumn Milazzo, Chicago Red Stars of the NWSL
- Kaleigh Kurtz, North Carolina Courage of the NWSL
- Taylor Leach, Kansas City Current of the NWSL
- Grace Fisk, West Ham United of the Fa Women’s Super League (Great Britain)
- Anna Patten, Arsenal of the FA Women’s Super League (Great Britain)
- Sabrina D’Angelo, Vittsjö of the Damallsvenskan (Sweden)
- Elexa Bahr, Racing Féminas of Segunda División Pro (Spain)
- Selma Sol Magnusdottir, Rosenborg BK Kvinner of Toppserien (Norway)
- Lauren Chang, AC Sparta Praha of Czech First League (Czech Republic)
This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 10:05 AM.
