Olympic sports Roundup
Women’s Soccer Off to 2-0 Start
B y D avid C loninger
W
ith the start of a new school year comes a new athletic year, and South Carolina began its newest seasons last week. Two Olympic sports began with another on tap to start its season on Friday.
Men’s Soccer
Coach Mark Berson began his 33rd season with the Gamecocks with an exhibition game last week at High Point, N.C. USC lost 1-0. “Tonight we looked at a lot of different players at a lot of different positions, and we learned a lot,” Berson said in a statement. “Now we get to take this information and continue to work and improve.” Seven different Gamecocks got at least one shot on goal, but the Panthers gained an 11-7 advantage. Fejiro Okiomah scored the only goal among his three shots. Jimmy Maurer and Alex Long each played one half in goal for the Gamecocks. The regular season begins on Friday with the annual grudge match against Clemson. The match is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Stone Stadium. The Gamecocks have won the last three straight matches against Clemson.
T his W eek ’ s G a me vs. Clemson/8 p.m. Friday
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Women’s Soccer
Led by SEC Defensive Player of the Week Mollie Patton, USC began defense of its SEC championship season by beating Boston on Aug. 20 and Northeastern on Aug. 22. The Gamecocks beat the Terriers 1-0 and the Huskies 3-0, improving Patton’s personal career number of shutouts to 24. She is only nine shutouts away from tying the SEC record. Lolly Holland scored with less than nine minutes left in regulation to win the seasonopener, but there was a frightening moment. As Wake Forest did in the last second of the NCAA tournament round of 16 last year, Boston scored a goal against USC just as the second half ended. But the attacker was called offsides and the goal was waived. The Gamecocks scored another shutout against Northeastern and got the benefit of their opponents accidentally scoring against themselves. Gabrielle Gilbert scored the game-winner and Ali Glemser got the second USC goal as the team improved to 2-0. The Huskies had not lost on their home field since October 2008. USC will host Arizona State at 2 p.m. on Sunday and will host the Carolina Cup tournament next weekend. Clemson, which has fallen to USC in the past two straight matches, will come to Columbia for that tournament.
T his W eek ’ s G a me vs. Arizona State/2 p.m. Sunday
Goalie Mollie Patton Photo courtesy USC Athletics
Volleyball
Coach Ben Somera and his team return to the Palmetto State for its first “home” matches of the season, but if USC fans want to go, they’ll have to take a short ride up the interstate. After beginning the season at a tournament in Illinois, the Gamecocks will take part in the Carolina Challenge by Hilton Garden Inn, hosted by Winthrop and in Rock Hill, this weekend. USC is set to play archrival Clemson at 5 p.m. on Friday and will play a doubleheader on Saturday against College of Charleston and the host Eagles. USC will host its own tournament in Columbia next weekend.
T his W eek ’ s G a mes vs. Clemson (in Rock Hill)/5 p.m. Friday vs. College of Charleston (in Rock Hill)/Noon Saturday vs. Winthrop (in Rock Hill)/7:30 p.m. Saturday
Cross Country
Coach Stan Rosenthal begins his seventh season at USC on Friday with the Gamecock Invite, set to begin at 6 p.m. at Fort Jackson. The event begins a six-meet regular season before the SEC and NCAA championships in November. After finishing 14th in the country last year, Rosenthal hopes to build on that success. Junior Beatrice Biwott, the team’s top individual runner, returns to pace the team and Rosenthal is seeking to confirm his top five group.
T his W eek ’ s G a me Gamecock Invite (at Fort Jackson)/6 p.m. Friday
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