Having to face Seattle, one of the nation’s top scoring teams, in the second round of the NCAA tournament was already shaping up to be a challenge for the South Carolina women’s soccer team.
But when the Gamecocks found out that All-American senior goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo would miss the match because of an arm injury suffered in practice this past week, the prospect became even tougher.
Nonetheless, the No. 3-seed Gamecocks advanced in penalty kicks (2-1) for the second-consecutive game as freshman goalkeeper Abbey Crider came up big in her first career start.
The Gamecocks will now move on to the third round for just the second time in program history, and will face second-seeded North Carolina on Sunday.
With the two teams tied at one goal apiece during the fifth round of penalty kicks, South Carolina midfielder Chelsea Drennan was able to sneak her shot past Seattle goalkeeper Brianna Smallidge to win it for the Gamecocks.
Crider was integral in penalty kicks as well, coming up with two critical saves during the shootout.
The Pinehurst, North Carolina native ended the match with three saves.
In D'Angelo's absence, things were made even tougher when redshirt senior midfielder Taylor Leach received her second yellow card of the game in the 89th minute. That forced the Gamecocks to play the entirety of overtime a man-down.
Seattle almost ended things in the 97th minute during the first overtime period when defender Kiana Kraft’s shot went inches above the crossbar.
The Gamecocks outshot Seattle 15-12, and South Carolina had five more shots on-goal than the Redhawks. South Carolina had a chance to score late in the second half off of a corner kick by Chelsea Drennan, but defender Andie Romness had two consecutive shots blocked from point blank range.
The Gamecocks have now played 343 minutes without scoring a goal, which makes South Carolina’s postseason success even more improbable.