Setting the Scene
South Carolina’s 26th-ranked women’s soccer team earned a home game against the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, thanks to a 12-4-3 season record. Last year, the Gamecocks finished one of the best seasons in school history, reaching the national quarterfinals before losing to eventual National Champions Florida State.
The Gamecocks are led by sophomore and two-time All-SEC Selection Savannah McCaskill, whose 10 goals and nine assists both lead the team and rank in the top 10 in the SEC.
Senior Caroline Kelly made her first postseason start in goal for the Gamecocks against junior Carolyn Huddy and the Seahawks.
The Early Going
Both teams started patiently, content to hold possession in their own third in the early going. Other than an early cross and header, saved by Kelly, neither team was overly aggressive in the first few minutes.
Things then picked up 10 minutes in.
On a breakaway, senior forward Raina Johnson had a chance on a breakaway, but her shot missed just high. Two minutes later, Johnson had a shot blocked inside the box and UNCW went on the counterattack. A beautiful chip from UNCW forward Maddie McCormick put forward Katrina Guillou behind the defense in position to score her 11th goal of the season.
Guillou snuck the ball past Kelly to give UNCW the 1-0 lead in the 12th minute.
For the rest of the first half, the teams battled back and forth, though few shots were taken. With less than 10 seconds left in the half, McCaskill came free on a breakaway, but her shot was saved by goalkeeper Huddy. The brilliant stop preserved the Seahawks’ 1-0 lead heading into the half.
After the Break
The Gamecocks came out of halftime with an aggressive mentality, pushing forward to even the score.
The Gamecocks had just four shots in the first half, but they turned up the offensive effort after the break. Still, South Carolina struggled to create good scoring chances, settling for long shots or attempts from difficult angles.
Junior midfielder Chelsea Drennan placed two corner kicks in good position for the Gamecocks, but the team could not convert either.
With the Gamecocks getting desperate, down one with under 10 minutes to play, UNCW took advantage of a bad pass and ended up with a corner kick after a breakaway opportunity. Kelly saved one shot, but midfielder Lauren Nalevaiko put away the rebound with a header to give the Seahawks a 2-0 lead.
Despite 12 shots, the Gamecocks only challenged Huddy three times, never converting. The first round loss will end what will be considered a disappointing season for South Carolina, who had high expectations after a stellar 2014 campaign.
Quotable:
“I think our offense has been tremendous this year. We have scored more goals in this season than any team in school history … Tonight you saw where if you don’t finish those chances, we had some, and if you don’t finish them it’s hard to win games. I think when you go down a goal it does put pressure on your team.” —Women's Soccer head coach Shelley Smith