Gamecocks knocked out in opening round
South Carolina’s women’s soccer team entered the 2011 SEC Tournament with the No. 1 overall seed and an eight-game conference winning streak, the longest in program history.
But that streak came to an end Wednesday night.
Facing off against No. 8 seed Alabama in their first game since clinching the SEC regular season championship, the Gamecocks allowed a first-half goal and failed to convert on 12 second-half shots, falling to the Crimson Tide 1-0.
The lone goal of the match came in the 30th minute. Assisted on the play by K.K. Duffy and Kendall Khanna, Alabama’s Molly Atherton put the Tide on the board with a shot past USC keeper Sabrina D’Angelo.
The Gamecocks weren’t without opportunities to earn the equalizer, with seniors Kayla Grimsley and Kortney Rhoades contributing five shots each, but the Tide defense rallied behind keeper Justine Bernier’s seven saves, eliminating Carolina from the tournament with a shutout victory.
The result marks the first time the tournament’s top seed team has lost in the opening round since 2002 and snaps USC’s two-year streak of reaching the final round.
The Gamecocks will learn their seed and opponent in the NCAA Tournament when the brackets are announced Monday afternoon.