South Carolina will travel to Clemson with undefeated record
One of the most anticipated matches of the season has arrived for the South Carolina women’s soccer team. The Gamecocks will travel to Clemson on Friday at 5:30 p.m. to play the Tigers (1-0-2).
South Carolina is undefeated at 3-0-1 after finishing up a road trip in Boston last week. The Gamecocks tied Boston University 0-0 Friday, and Sunday the Gamecocks won 3-0 against Northeastern.
The key for South Carolina’s early success may be attributed to several newcomers on the team.
Coach Shelley Smith said freshman midfielder Chelsea Drennan and freshman forward Sophie Groff have performed well as starters. The two players have little college soccer experience under their belt, but Smith has been impressed with their readiness at this level.
Smith said the two have been an integral part of the Gamecocks’ offensive efforts and that their defensive work has also been a major contribution to the team.
Senior forward/midfielder Danielle Au also acknowledged the strong play of Groff and Drennan.
“It’s always hard to step in as a freshman and contribute,” Au said. “Both of them, and we have freshman that come off the bench, too, who help our team very much, they’ve helped me a lot.”
Au is off to a fast start herself with three goals in the first four games. She is responsible for the game-winners against both UNC-Wilmington and Duke.
The senior has noticed a difference in this year’s team over her past seasons in Columbia.
“I think we’re a lot closer this year. We’re really tight-knit,” Au said. “It shows in the way we play. We combine well and we get great chances. We all get along really well. We’re all so different too but it works.”
Au said the younger players who have not experienced the rivalry between South Carolina and Clemson before already know the magnitude of the game.
This is Au’s final match against the Tigers and she expects an intense atmosphere.
Besides the freshmen, Smith gave a lot of credit to returning players such as Au, sophomore midfielder Stevi Parker and senior midfielder Elizabeth Sinclair. Smith said Parker and Sinclair have done well to keep the ball on the attack for the Gamecocks.
The coach added that she expects to see a good amount of fans in Clemson and that these types of games are nice because the sport is really getting some attention.
Smith also said that USC has learned a lot in the past few weekends of matches.
“We’ve been playing well. We need to build on what we’ve done already,” Smith said. “We have to take that confidence and build off some of the things we’ve done well and the things we need to work and do better. We’ll face a good team who’s young. They start a lot of freshmen. They’re excited to play us and we have to go in and match that intensity that they’ll bring from the start.”
Specifically, some of the things Smith said South Carolina has done well includes staying strong and together defensively, which puts pressure on its opponents. She said each player that has come off the bench gives the team a lift and continues that pressure on teams.
On offense, Smith said the Gamecocks have done a good job of counterattacking.
“When we pass well and keep the ball well against teams, we’ve done very well,” Smith said. “Being dangerous in the offensive third is something we’ve shown we can do. If we just make a couple better choices and that final pass, we’ll be scoring more goals.”
The game plan is to keep up the strong defensive play as the Gamecocks have yet to concede a goal this season. Offensively, Smith wants to finish on chances early and often.
“We’ve been putting ourselves in positions to wins games defensively,” she said. “You have to try to put your goals away when you can. We want to impose ourselves on them from the start.”