As South Carolina women's soccer continues its historic run to the NCAA Tournament, a trail of records and milestones has been left in its wake. But under the leadership of head coach Shelley Smith, the team is only focused on the near future.
The Gamecocks' first-round NCAA Tournament win over Alabama State marked Smith's 200th victory at the helm of the program.
It is not in Smith's mentality to allow herself to savor those hallmarks of career achievement, especially not with the opportunity her players find themselves in, ranked as the top seed in their bracket.
"It's not something I record or keep track of. But I'm thrilled to be able to continue to represent the University of South Carolina and put ourselves in the position to win games and to win championships," Smith said.
Smith's forward-thinking philosophy is mirrored in the disposition of her players.
"She’s kind of the same as our team is, where we are looking at one win at a time," senior forward Sophie Groff said. "Yes, it was her 200th, but we were kind of focused more on one win at a time — one game at a time — and moving forward."
"It's always great to be a part of her accomplishments," senior defender Paige Bendell said. "We've been through a lot with her."
There were a lot of those accomplishments for the Gamecocks in their undefeated regular season, not just by Smith, but by her players also. Senior midfielder Chelsea Drennan broke the program's assist record on Oct. 9 in a win over Arkansas. Junior forward Savannah McCaskill claimed South Carolina's single-season record for goals and total points.
While this season has culminated in a constant stream of achievement and accolades, it has been in the making for several years. The nucleus of this team is built around juniors and seniors, many of whom were around for Smith's 150th career win.
While the team's mentality is oriented on the next game ahead, last season's loss to UNC Wilmington in the first round of the tournament still presses on the returning players. Six first-half goals against Alabama State eliminated any of that uncertainty.
“Especially with what happened last year, we didn’t want to take any opponent lightly," Bendell said.
Smith and South Carolina will prepare to host Colorado in the next round of tournament play, scheduled for Nov. 17 at 7 p.m., keeping with their habit of taking each game as a separate entity. If they can execute that path to perfection, the team has the potential to achieve its greatest milestone of all.
Smith might have to take a minute to celebrate that one.