11:40 EST: Regular season play for the South Carolina women’s soccer team begins tonight.
The Gamecocks will open their season against the Northeastern Huskies on their home turf, Stone Stadium, at 7 p.m. in Columbia, South Carolina. The team recently played an exhibition game against NC State and won 3-0 to begin their journey for a promising season this fall.
These two teams have not met since 2013, but the Gamecocks hold the series record of 3-0-0. South Carolina is starting their season after a winning record last fall of 14-6-5 overall. Northeastern is also coming off a good season with an overall record of 15-5-3.
The matchup will be an interesting one to see since the Huskies have 21 returning players, three of which are their top scorers: sophomore Kayala Cappuzoo, junior Mackenzie Dowd and sophomore Hannah Lopiccolo. The Gamecocks will also be returning some of their top scorers from last year including junior Chelsea Drennan, who has 27 total points in just two seasons with the Gamecocks. Other top scorers for South Carolina include junior forward Sophie Groff and senior forward Raina Johnson.
Reigning SEC Freshman of the Year Savannah McCaskill will also lead the Gamecocks after notching five goals last season.
The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) ranked South Carolina at No. 11 which is the highest ever preseason ranking for the Gamecocks. The Gamecocks have an all-time season opener record of 12-5-3 and have gone 9-2-3 under head coach Shelley Smith since 2001.
Northeastern is the reigning Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) conference.
7 p.m.
The game is underway and the starters are ready to hit the field in this 2015 season opener.
For the Gamecocks, some starters include Groff, McCaskill and Drennan. Another regular on the fowl includes senior defender Carly Ray.
As for the Northeastern Huskies, the not so unusual starters include Lopiccolo and Cappuzzo. Another important player for Northeastern is junior defender Brittani Gardella.
In goal for South Carolina is sophomore Abbey Crider, and for the Huskies is redshirt sophomore Jill Quinn.
8:00 p.m. halftime
Shots were made quickly by both teams in the first several minutes to tie it up 1-1.
In the second minute, South Carolina scored off a corner kick from McCaskill assisted by Drennan.
Northeastern managed to match that in the sixth minute from eight yards out with a shot from redshirt Taylor Caparo assisted by both juniors Kimberly Slade and Carina Deandreis.
Many fouls were conducted in the first half with five for the Huskies and four for the Gamecocks. A yellow card was issued with 19:48 on the clock to Northeastern's freshman forward Nicole Gorman. Gorman went up in the air with Ray in an attempt for a header. Ray came down grasping her side and was carried off the field. She will not return to the game with a back injury.
Huskies have managed to save four goals against the Gamecocks in the first half.
End of game
South Carolina managed to win its opening season game 4-1 against Northeastern.
In the 53rd minute, South Carolina scored from the left corner from senior Caroline Gray with the assist from sophomore Lindsey Lane. The third goal came from in the box from Johnson and with the assist of Drennan. The fourth and final goal came from a cross shot five yards out from Drennan with the assist freshman Simone Wark.
Drennan was a key aspect in the game tonight with three assists and one goal as the junior starts out her season. She wanted to credit the whole team, though, because it was not just her accomplishment.
“Just as a team we talked about high pressuring them and getting off quick there and we did,” Drennan said. “We always say first five and last five minutes to get them back on their heels. Our plan worked pretty well.”
There were many firsts for the team as many new players took on the field, including freshman Wark with her first assist.
Head coach Shelley Smith felt accomplished with her team and can tell this season looks successful, even though there is always room for improvement.
“We came out fiery and really put them under pressure, but things change, and we gave them a goal, but we responded to that,” Smith said. “We never let Northeastern get into the game in the last half and finished off the game really well.”
The Gamecocks return to play on Sunday at home against Oklahoma.