Hosting Coastal Carolina in Stone Stadium, the Gamecocks beat the Chanticleers 3-2 in their first meeting in history.
Coastal Carolina is now 2-2 overall so far, winning 2-1 against both against Wofford and Georgia Southern in its first games.
South Carolina had its first loss of the season Friday at Clemson 2-1. The Gamecocks only goal was from sophomore Savannah McCaskill. The assist came from junior Sophie Groff. South Carolina is now 3-1 overall.
After numerous delays due to lightning in Columbia, South Carolina, the game finally started at 7:05 p.m. instead of the original time of 6:00 p.m. Although the game was delayed, the final attendance count for the game reached 2,150 people.
The starters for the Gamecocks include McCaskill at forward and sophomore Abby Crider in goal and for the Chanticleers in goal was junior Becca Austin.
The Gamecocks had two shots early in the first couple minutes from McCaskill and Groff but were saved by Coastal Carolina’s Austin to begin the multiple goal attempts that followed.The Gamecocks had 14 shots against the Chanticleers with only one goal made in the net, compared to Coastal Carolina’s three shots in the first 45 minutes. Both teams managed to have four fouls each in the first half of the game.
In the 19th minute, junior Sam Patterson for the Chanticleers received a yellow card. Patterson was not taken out of the game, however, and continued to play the entire first half. Also for Coastal Carolina, junior Ellie Taylor received a yellow card in the 57th minute.
With a scoreless first 20 minutes, the Gamecocks took charge in the 26th minute. Junior Kaleigh Kurtz headed it in the net form the corner kick from junior Chelsea Drennan. This was Kurtz's first goal and Drennan's third assist for this season. Kurtz played the entire first half of the game.
The second half held two goals for the Gamecocks, one in the 53rd minute and one in the 63rd minute, both from Groff. These are her first two goals of the season, giving her a total of 11 goals for her collegiate career. The second goal came from a cross shot with the assists from McCaskill and senior Raina Johnson. This is the second assist of the season for McCaskill.
Groff is credited with the win against the Chanticleers with two goals for South Carolina.
Coastal Carolina had two goals for the game. One in the 73rd minute from sophomore Daniella Famili with the assist from Darbie Kelley. This is Famili’s second goal of the season. The second was Patterson’s first goal of the season: a header in the 87th minute with the assist from both freshman Tara Lyons and Brooke Horist.
At the end of the game the Gamecocks had a total of 24 shots, making three of them for the win against Coastal Carolina.
The Gamecocks have a few days to rest until they host Colgate on Friday at 7 p.m.