South Carolina hosts 49ers in rare Thursday matchup
The wait’s been long, but after one month of play, South Carolina is set for its first full weekend at Stone Stadium.
Fresh off a fifth straight Carolina Cup title at Clemson last week, the Gamecocks will look to close out their nonconference schedule on a high note against Charlotte tonight and Wake Forest on Sunday.
Traveling for six of its first seven matches has been no picnic for USC, but coach Shelley Smith believes the challenge will pay dividends as the season goes along.
“The fact that we’ve been on the road is wearing, and the players have handled that very well,” Smith said. “It makes you that much more appreciative when you’re in front of your home fans. The players connected and played tremendously [at home] against Northeastern, and hopefully they’ll continue to do that in these next two games.”
Playing on Thursday rather than Friday is an unusual occurrence for the Gamecocks. Despite being without a normal practice day, however, Smith doesn’t expect the odd week to throw the team off.
“I think we’ll be ready and excited to play, and the positive that comes from it is that we’ll have an extra day of rest before we play again Sunday,” Smith said. “We’re looking forward to having that break and getting a chance to play on a Thursday to Sunday rotation this time.”
The jury remains out on whether freshman keeper Sabrina D’Angelo will be available after suffering an ankle injury last Friday against Clemson. The freshman was held out of Sunday’s match with UNC-Wilmington, but Smith doesn’t believe the injury is serious.
“She’s been working her way back,” Smith said. “She wasn’t full-go [on Sunday], but she was out there and moving. We just want to make sure we’re putting her in again when she’s ready and not putting her at risk of injuring it further.”
Darien Vercillo will be called upon if D’Angelo is unavailable. The redshirt sophomore has seen playing time in five matches this season, posting a 0.5 goals-against average and a .833 save percentage as well as a shutout in Sunday’s win over the Seahawks.
“Having Darien as someone you can rely on is a huge help to this team, and that’s what you hope for at any position,” Smith said. “It’s such an important position. You win and lose games on that person. Darien’s done a good job this year to fill that role when Sabrina’s not in the game.”
A strong performance in last weekend’s matchups brought national recognition for senior Ellen Fahey. After anchoring USC’s defense in back-to-back shutouts, Fahey was named to the “Our Game Magazine” Players to Watch List, marking the first national team of the week selection of her collegiate career.
“She’s been our most rugged player, even fighting off injuries last year,” Smith said. “At the end of the season, she had a splint on both feet, crutches and a splint on her arm, and she still went out and played the last NCAA game. That shows the kind of character she has.
“She’s going to fight until the last second, and you need that on your back line because when it comes down to throwing yourself in front of a shot or winning that tackle, we can count on Ellen to do that.”
Fahey was also among several players that received attention on campus this week. The women’s soccer team and its SEC title in 2009 was the topic of William Coxe’s University 101 class on Wednesday, and 10 Gamecock players stopped by to meet students and answer questions. The group also included senior Kayla Grimsley, who said the visit meant a lot to her and her teammates.
“It’s an honor, having people like Mr. Coxe who support our team so much and his class knowing a lot about us also,” Grimsley said. “We came here to get this team and this school on the map, and I think we’ve done so. To see the little impacts we’ve been making on a little U-101 class that’s full of freshmen who already know about us is something we take pride in and really enjoy seeing.”