The South Carolina women’s soccer team tied 1-1 against the No. 25 Clemson Tigers on Thursday night at Stone Stadium. In the 31 games played in the all-times series, this is the third year in a row that the rivalry between the two teams ends in a tie.
The game began with Clemson in the driver’s seat and testing South Carolina’s defense earlier on. Even with the pressure, the Tigers would not capitalize on the close range opportunities, with only one shot attempt from sophomore forward Jenna Tobia that was missed left of the goal.
South Carolina would eventually apply pressure on the rival team by driving down the field and attempting two shots on goals from fifth-year midfielder Brianna Behm and fifth-year forward Corinna Zullo, both saved by Clemson goalkeeper redshirt sophomore Nona Reason.
The Gamecocks continued to put pressure on the Tigers with shots-on-goal. South Carolina followed this up with an additional shot attempt from freshman forward Katie Shea Collins at the 17th minute. The Gamecocks continued to attempt to earn the first goal as the team added an additional shot attempt at the goal by fifth-year forward Corinna Zullo, followed by a foul by senior midfielder Lily Render.
Both teams would substitute players off the bench after a goal attempt from freshman midfielder Kendall Bodak, with the Gamecocks bringing in four players and the Tigers bringing in one. Clemson earned a free kick after a physical foul on sophomore midfielder Cuyler Zulauf. The free kick resulted in another shot attempt by Tobia.
South Carolina’s defense would hold up against the Tigers late in the first half as junior goalkeeper Christina Tsaousis saved two shots on the goal during the last ten minutes of the first half.
The Gamecocks opened the second half on offense and took advantage with a goal from fifth-year forward Catherine Barry, assisted by Collins to give South Carolina a 1-0 lead.
In the 55th minute, graduate forward Megan Bornkamp attempted a goal that missed to the right. The Tigers would add on two more shot attempts from sophomore midfielder Dani Davis as they looked to tie the game against the Gamecocks.
Freshman midfielder Kylie Cino picked up a foul after a head-to-head collision as she and another player both went for the ball. Clemson's Tobia would commit a foul within the same minute.
The Tigers continued to pressure South Carolina’s defense with shot attempts from Tobia and sophomore midfielder Christian Brathwaite that missed at the 77th and 79th minute.
Another shot at the goal from Clemson graduate forward Bornkamp would be saved by Tsauosis to prevent a goal late in the game.
Despite the Gamecocks' defense being strong for much of the game, Clemson would drive down the field during the last minute and Brathwaite scored to end the game with a score of 1-1. The Gamecocks would attempt to respond to the last minute goal but was unable to get a shot on the goal.
Carolina's defensive skills on display
Clemson applied pressure on the Gamecocks' back line, shooting 16 shots with 4 shots on goal. South Carolina attempted the same amount of shots on goal but only six total shots attempted as a team. Despite this, the Gamecocks were able to keep the rival team from scoring until the very last minute of the game.
Head coach Shelly Smith described the effort by the defense tonight as "great."
"They held them to very few opportunities. That's a great team. They can be very dangerous." Smith said. "Overall, (I'm) very happy with the effort."
Catherine Barry, past and present
Fifth-year forward Catherine Barry led the teams in goals last year with 9 goals. This propelled her into fourth place of all time on goals scored, as well as second of all time in game winners. Barry has around half of her total goals last year already this season, before conference play has began. The fifth-year is poised for a historic season.
When asked about Barry's performance tonight, Smith praised her ability to step up in tonight's game.
"Very proud of her, as a senior, she put us in that position," Smith said. "They did a good job to try to shut her down, and she did well to respond and find a way."
What's next?
The South Carolina women's soccer team is back in action on Sept. 12 against the Georgetown Hoyas at Stone Stadium. The game will start at 7 p.m. on the SEC Network.