Gamecocks drop second SEC contest of weekend
Despite outshooting its opponent for the second-consecutive game and playing a man up in the final 24 minutes of the second half , the No. 14 South Carolina women’s soccer team (8-3, 1-2) was once again held scoreless, losing 1-0 to No. 22 Georgia (7-2-1, 2-1-1) Sunday.
The loss marks the first time since September of 2012 that the Gamecocks have dropped back-to-back SEC regular season contests.
In what was a defensive battle, both teams got off to a slow start offensively. There wasn’t a single shot attempt until 20 minutes into the first half.
But as the first half moved along, both offenses started to gain a sense of rhythm, and the Gamecocks outshot Georgia 5-3 in the first 45 minutes. But it was the Bulldogs that made the most of their opportunities.
With just 15 seconds remaining before halftime, Georgia freshman forward Kelsey Killean one-timed a shot past South Carolina senior goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo into the back of the net to give Georgia a 1-0 lead.
The score was just the fourth goal given up by D’Angelo through 11 games.
“It sucks because it was the end of the half, and I kind of spaced out and zoned out a little bit,” D’Angelo said. “The next thing I knew, the ball was at our end and it was totally my fault mentally for not being ready and organizing my backs and not being set to save the goal.”
South Carolina is now 0-3 on the season when trailing at halftime.
The Gamecocks had multiple chances to score just a few minutes into the second half but couldn’t capitalize off of their opportunities.
In the 49th minute of play, South Carolina junior midfielder Raina Johnson had an open shot well within the penalty box, but her shot from point-blank range went wide right.
Just one minute later, Gamecock sophomore midfielder Chelsea Drennan’s header attempt after a free kick by senior defender Andie Romness hit the right post.
The Gamecocks ended up outshooting Georgia 15-6, with no goals to show for it.
“We battled but our ability to finish the chances we had and our composure in front of the goal just wasn’t good enough today,” head coach Shelley Smith said. Despite struggling with self-enforced miscues on offense, the Gamecocks were given a huge advantage about midway through the second half when Georgia sophomore forward Marion Crowder received a red card after shoving South Carolina sophomore defender Kaleigh Kurtz.
Because of the infraction, the Gamecocks played a man-up for the final 24:16 of the second half, but they were still unable to convert any of their opportunities into goals.
Moving forward, South Carolina will look to snap its two-game losing streak when the team travels to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to face the Crimson Tide Friday.
But before then, the Gamecocks have a lot of work to do, Smith said.
“They may need to do some work on their own time to make sure our quality is right when we get to game day," she said. "We’re fit, we’re working, but we need to be better in our quality.”