Gamecocks set to host Alabama after banner weekend
Coming off one of the most historic weekends in program history and riding a four-game win streak, the South Carolina women’s soccer team continues to be a model of consistency.
The Gamecocks (11-1-1, 4-1-0 SEC) are flying high heading into Friday’s showdown with Alabama (5-7-0, 3-2-0 SEC), but the team continues to take the same modest approach they have used all season. The players and the coaching staff rally around two words, win anyway.
“It just means that no matter what happens we just have to get the job done,” senior midfielder and captain Elizabeth Sinclair said. “It’s the mentality that you get that nothing else matters.”
South Carolina has done just that, winning games in every situation imaginable. On the way to the Tennessee game on Sunday, the team bus was involved in a minor accident that delayed the team’s arrival to the field. However, the team turned to their rallying cry and won anyway.
The Gamecocks seem to thrive when their backs are up against the wall, which was apparent in the two overtime games last weekend. No matter the circumstances, the mentality remains the same.
“I think we have been better about not wasting chances,” coach Shelley Smith said. “We have to remember what we’ve done well. Down a goal, up a goal, no matter what we try to keep possession and stick with the game plan.”
One of the key players to the weekend sweep was redshirt junior defender Taylor Leach. In addition to scoring the winning goal in double overtime against Florida, Leach also played lockdown defense on two of the top strikers in the conference.
For her efforts, Leach earned a place on both TopDrawerSoccer’s Team of the Week and CS360’s Primetime Performers Weekly Honor Rollin addition to her SEC Defensive Player of the Week award.
“I don’t take it as an individual thing,” Leach said. “It’s more of without my teammates I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish all of that and I have them to thank and my coaches.”
As for the Gamecocks’ upcoming opponent, Alabama’s offense has come alive in the last couple of weeks after a slow start to the season. The Crimson Tide scored 12 goals during a three-game win streak before coming to a halt Sunday against LSU, who are currently two places ahead of South Carolina in the SEC standings. Smith is confident that her team can counter Alabama’s weapons.
“We’ve been strong and solid all year defensively,” Smith said. “Alabama’s usually a team that has that strength to win balls in the box but we’ve been able to shut down a lot of offenses.”
Back-to-back overtime games can take a toll on the legs, but Sinclair believes the 22 extra minutes played last weekend won’t hinder her teammates.
“We had a really tough fitness program throughout the summer and preseason so people were prepared for that and going into it we knew it was going to be hard,” Sinclair said. “I think people are ready.”
The Gamecocks were rewarded for their impressive weekend with an eleven spot jump in the NSCAA poll from No. 19 to No. 8. The team returns to Stone Stadium Friday where they are a perfect 7-0-0 and have surrendered just one goal.
“We’ve got to stay focused,” Leach said. “Every day we come out to practice we gotta make sure that we take it game by game and don’t overlook anything. Alabama’s a strong team so we gotta go in with everything we have.”