Gamecocks win two at home
South Carolina's recent scoring barrage showed no signs of letting up this weekend.
After trouncing Alabama 4-1 on Friday, the Gamecocks kept their offensive rhythm intact with a 3-1 victory over No. 21 Auburn on Sunday, marking the third straight match in which they scored three goals or more.
"You can see our team really coming together," USC coach Shelley Smith said. "They've figured out offensively how to play off each other much better. That's taken time and work and a lot of coordination between those players, but they feel it and they've figured some things out."
Carolina didn't waste much time pulling away in Sunday's televised matchup with the Tigers. Running onto an Ali Whitney corner kick in the 27th minute, Maria Petroni snuck behind a stationary Auburn defense and redirected the ball into the back of the net to give the Gamecocks a 1-0 lead.
"[Whitney's] set pieces have been key for us," Petroni said. "We've scored at least four or five goals off of them. She just swung it in, and I got a knee on it to score."
USC converted on another corner kick 13 minutes later. Playing the ball after Kayla Grimsley's kick was redirected by an Ellen Fahey header, Gabrielle Gilbert fired a shot just below the crossbar to extend the lead to 2-0.
"[Corner kicks] have been something we thought we could capitalize on," Smith said. "Some of the services in the box have been tremendous. We hadn't been taking advantage of it the way we should, but the last couple games we have. It's a big difference. If you win that part of the game, you're going to win games."
The Tigers mounted a brief comeback in the second half when Julie King cut the lead to 2-1 with a goal in the opening minute, but Carolina managed to put AU away for good in the 66th minute when Danielle Au scored on a far-post shot in the box to extend the advantage to 3-1.
"Our offense has been really good for the past few games," said Au, who also provided two goals in Friday's win over the Crimson Tide. "When our offense clicks, it generates a lot of goals. We knew we had to do that and it's been great. It's awesome what we've been able to do over the past three games."
Complementing Au's two-goal performance against Alabama were Kortney Rhoades and Lolly Holland, while Grimsley contributed three assists on the night, tying the program record for a single-game performance.
An added bonus to Carolina's recent offensive explosion was its exposure to a national audience the past two Sundays, a factor Smith said is good for viewers to be able to witness.
"We're a better team than what our record shows for sure," Smith said. "It's unfortunate that we didn't get some wins that we probably should've. That happens, but we've got great potential. We're continuing to get better, and that's what you want to do at the end of the season. The team's happy with what they've done. We're definitely happy to see where this team can go."