Team coming off of first tie of its SEC season
The Vanderbilt Lady Commodores and No. 7 South Carolina will face off in a late season SEC matchup Friday night at 6 p.m.
A double overtime 1-1 tie with No. 24 Ole Miss on Sunday gave the Lady Gamecocks their first tie in SEC play this season. The Gamecocks are now 12-2-2 overall and 5-2-1 in the SEC.
As the regular season starts to wind down with only three games left, the pressure is mounting for South Carolina to close out the season strong.
Coach Shelley Smith reflected on the magnitude of the next few games.
“Every conference game is important,” Smith said. “It’s one step closer to reaching our goals, winning SEC championships and getting into postseason play, so we know how crucial each game is, especially when you’re in the SEC.”
Freshman Chelsea Drennan, who scored her first career goal in the sixth minute against Ole Miss, said the Lady Gamecocks’ focus in the upcoming regular season games will be to keep a level head late in tight games.
“I think for us, it’s just composure in the final third, and in our defensive third, playing how we’ve always played since the beginning of the season, and I if we do that, I know we can beat anyone,” Drennan said.
Smith said that creating chances and staying aggressive is also a focus going into tomorrow night’s game.
“We’ve played so well and created chances,” Smith said. “This team has always given great effort and put it all on the line. We’ve just got to be smarter and know when to make it easier for ourselves when we have the ball, knowing when to make runs and when to attack.”
The Gamecocks will try to keep their unblemished 8-0 home record intact when they face the Commodores at Stone Stadium.