Junior Savannah McCaskill had a career day Sunday as No. 24 South Carolina took care of Tulsa, 4-1, improving its record to 1-0-1 to begin the season.
The Gamecocks started the scoring early. Redshirt senior Bay Daniel received a pass from junior Anna Conklin inside the box and put it away for the first score of the game, only eight minutes from the start of the game.
Then Savannah McCaskill kicked into fifth gear and took over the game.
In the 10th, the Irmo, South Carolina, native out-jumped a Tulsa defender on a cross and buried the ball in the net for the Gamecocks’ second goal. Shortly after halftime, McCaskill drilled the ball past the Golden Hurricane’s goalie from outside the box to add her second goal of the day. Her final goal came in the closing minutes of the game as she scored off a free kick near the top of the box, completing a hat trick. Her three-goal game is the first for South Carolina since 2010.
The Golden Hurricanes didn’t go home with a goose egg, though. In the 70th minute, Regan Whitlow hit a shot outside the box that slipped past Gamecock goalkeeper Hunter Peifer to make the score 3-1, but the goal was too late into the contest to swing any momentum. Her shot was only one of three Tulsa managed to put in the goal all game.
Coach Shelley Smith thought her team played a complete game and looks good coming out of the opening weekend.
"Today was a great result for us as a group,” Smith said. “We created opportunities, and we put away our chances. They deserved the win, and I was very happy with the performance. Obviously, Savannah had a great weekend, and she was rewarded with some goals today. She took some tremendous shots that were hard to stop."
The Gamecocks will return to action Thursday against North Carolina State. The game will be played at Stone Stadium at 7 p.m.