Savannah McCaskill entered this postseason as the SEC Offensive Player of the Year. And in the South Carolina Gamecock’s matchup against the Texas A&M Aggies, she proved why she deserved those honors. In an exciting matchup, McCaskill led the Gamecocks to a 2-1 victory over the Aggies.
The Gamecocks just capped off an undefeated season, securing the SEC regular season title and only allowing seven total goals to opponents. While they struggled early against a feisty Aggie team and played from behind most of the game, the Gamecocks were able to show why they earned their spot atop the SEC rankings.
The Gamecocks struggled early on in the match, narrowly avoiding an own goal in the opening minutes of the game. Carolina showed clear difficulty mounting together an attack and gave up multiple opportunities on defense, giving the Aggies strong momentum in the first half.
In just the 24th minute of the intense match, Texas A&M’s Emily Bates sent a dagger in the hearts of Carolina fans with a swift goal on freshman goalie Mikayla Krzeczowski. Visibly flustered and unable to work up an attack, the Gamecocks trailed their opponent going into halftime, something that had not occurred in any game this season.
Following halftime, the Gamecocks entered the game ready and more alive than they had looked all game. Giving the offense some momentum, McCaskill showed that she was the leader of this historic South Carolina team and notched a swift 58th-minute goal, sending a chip shot just over the head of Aggies goalie Danielle Rice.
McCaskill’s equalizing goal marked the shift in momentum from the Aggies towards the Gamecocks. From that point on, the Gamecocks offense found their stride and were able to come alive on both sides of the ball. Allowing the only shot on goal in the first half, Krzeczowski had a perfect save percentage in the second half, backed by SEC Defensive Player of the Year Kaleigh Kurtz.
Shortly after, McCaskill was able to take a long clear from Krzeczowski all the way to the goal and finish with a beautiful left-footed shot over the head of Rice. McCaskill gave the Carolina team new life in the postseason narrowly edging out the Aggies.
The Gamecocks will hope to continue this momentum into their next postseason game facing the winner of a Florida vs. Missouri matchup Friday at 4:30 p.m at Orange Beach, Alabama.