When junior keeper Sabrina D’Angelo was knocked over clearing a routine dump-in in the 14th minute, South Carolina hadn’t recorded a shot and the match had been played primarily in the Gamecocks’ defensive half. Despite the no-call, the SEC Defensive Player of the Year stood up quickly, as did the rest of her teammates.
Taylor Leach netted a goal on the ensuing possession to set off South Carolina’s four-goal barrage in the first half as the Gamecocks defeated Furman 5-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.
“I think my team’s response was great,” D’Angelo said. “We got the goals we needed in the first half. We were just determined to score goals and win the game.”
While D’Angelo gathered herself following the collision, freshman midfielder Chelsea Drennan was busy setting up South Carolina’s first chance of the night. After Furman keeper Rose Hull deflected Drennan’s initial lob pass to senior forward Danielle Au out of bounds, the Gamecocks were set up with their first corner kick of the night.
Drennan’s corner was headed back towards the goal where Leach kicked it off Hull into the back of the net. Initially ruled an own goal, the redshirt junior defender was later credited with her third goal of the season.
Just two minutes later, Furman responded with a chance of its own. Junior defender Alyssa Althoff sent a strike from outside the box that ricocheted off the crossbar and back into play where the Gamecocks controlled it.
South Carolina used the Paladins’ missed chance to propel their second chance of the night. After corralling a long ball just inside Furman’s half in the 19th minute, Au sent a lob out in front of the only other Gamecock on that side of the field. As Raina Johnson chased down the ball seemingly for naught, Hull and a Furman defender suffered from apparent miscommunication and let the ball bounce in between them just outside the box. Johnson seized the opportunity, squeezing between the two and sending the ball into the empty net for her team-leading tenth goal of the season.
The South Carolina bench provided a spark from there. Sophomore forward Coryn Bajema, sidelined for a majority of the season with an injury, came on and netted her second and third goals of the season in the 28th and 35th minutes, respectively.
The first of Bajema’s goals came off another corner kick from Drennan. Drennan’s kick found the heads of Daija Griffin and Elizabeth Sinclair before Bajema headed it past Hull.
“Our bench has been great coming in to give us a lift,” head coach Shelley Smith said. “That group that came in in the first, it changed the game.”
When halftime finally put a pause to the Gamecocks’ attack, the team had netted four of its six shots, including their first three. Drennan, who assisted Bajema’s second goal, moved up to second all-time in program history for assists in a season with 12. Drennan needs one more to tie the record.
“I just try my best to put the ball in front of the net and pick out players and to give them opportunities to score goals,” Drennan said.
Sophie Groff’s third goal of the season in the 63rd minute capped the Gamecocks scoring. South Carolina outshot the Paladins 12-4 for the match, scoring on nearly half their attempts. The Gamecocks improved to a perfect 11-0-0 at “The Graveyard” in 2013. Overall, Smith was pleased with the team’s opening round performance.
“They played great,” Smith said. “I think there’s things that you look at and we do need to do better. We know the next rounds just get harder and harder.”