As Abbey Crider began to take questions from members of the media following South Carolina’s practice on Tuesday, some of her teammates poked fun at the freshman goalkeeper’s new-found success.
“You’ve only played two games!”
“You’re famous now!”
They’re right. Crider, the woman of the hour, has gone from All-American Sabrina D’Angelo’s understudy to the Gamecocks’ godsend in goal in just one week’s time.
When D’Angelo injured her arm in practice a week ago, it was Crider who was thrown into the fire and forced to replace one of the most successful South Carolina players of all-time as the Gamecocks headed to Chapel Hill, North Carolina for the second and third rounds of the NCAA tournament.
And it was Crider who improbably stymied Seattle with two saves during penalty kicks in her first career start only to follow up that effort with another shutout against second-seeded North Carolina to send the No. 3-seed Gamecocks to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history.
Needless to say, it’s been an eventful week for the Pinehurst, North Carolina native.
“It’s been surreal,” Crider said. “I’ve been rendered speechless after the first two games.”
Crider’s stats from the weekend may not appear overwhelming as she saved just six shots, but
part of that has to deal with her defense’s stellar play. Of course, Crider has allowed zero goals,
the only stat that truly matters to a goalkeeper.
But what a box score can’t tell is how tough it is for a true freshman to step into the spotlight the way Crider did and excel.
Whether it be during penalty kicks against Seattle, or having to fend off five shots in the final 15 minutes of action against North Carolina, Crider was repeatedly put in tough situations, and still came out unblemished.
“For her to go in as a freshman, and not back down, and really make some game-winning saves, as well as the PKs situation, she didn’t fold under the pressure,” South Carolina head coach Shelley Smith said. “She came up strong, and gave it her all, and that’s huge.”
A fifth-year senior, defender Taylor Leach knows how valuable experience is in college soccer,
which makes Crider’s success even more impressive in her mind.
“It’s unbelievable,” Leach said of Crider’s play. “We’re so proud of her, and the thing is, though, when she was put in there we said, ‘Hey Abbey we got your back,’ and I think that’s all she really
needed for that confidence boost."
Unlike most freshmen, Crider had the chance to enroll early, and the extra practice time and she
reps received has helped her, she said.
Crider has also received quite a bit of encouragement from D’Angelo, and she said that being able to train with one of the country’s top goalkeepers has been an outstanding experience.
Now with D’Angelo sidelined for the foreseeable future, Crider said that she’s playing for her
injured teammate and mentor.
“Not a lot of people get to say that, and it’s been an honor to play with her," Crider said. "And now play for her.”