In Thursday night’s 2-1 win against No. 21 NC State, head coach Shelley Smith and the rest of Gamecock nation found out a lot more about what this year’s South Carolina women’s soccer team is all about.
1. South Carolina is capable of taking on quality teams.
After the match against the Wolfpack, Smith found that her team is able to play a talented squad that was a 2018 Sweet Sixteen participant right off the bat to begin the season.
“It’s a huge victory tonight for us,” Smith said. “Not just the fact that we came from behind, but to play a ranked opponent, such a quality opponent in NC State … that’s huge for us to be challenged and come back from being down a goal.”
Thursday night, the Gamecocks faced a team that returned its top four goal scorers from last season, including Wolfpack senior midfielder Tziarra King who led the team with ten goals in 2018 along with senior forward Kia Rankin who led the squad in game-winners with four.
2. New talent is shining on the field.
Another takeaway from the first match of the season was the emergence of new talent on the South Carolina squad this season, specifically redshirt freshman midfielder Samantha Chang.
Despite missing all of the 2018 season, Chang was able to make a huge difference at Stone Stadium on Thursday night by grabbing an assist to senior defender Tatumn Milazzo in the 49th minute to tie the match up early in the second half.
“Last year I was out with a torn ACL, so I was very excited to play and contribute to the team and very happy that I could help with the assist for sure,” Chang said.
3. Bahr and Milazzo are continuing 2018 momentum.
On the other side of the coin, another contributor to this year’s squad that was displayed to a packed Stone Stadium were returning 2018 veterans, such as senior forward Elexa Bahr and Milazzo who came up with a total of five goals together last season and one goal each against the Wolfpack.
These goals were made possible by the many offensive opportunities created by the Gamecocks, Smith noted after the game.
“It’s important to put yourself in a position to test the goalkeeper, test the back line,” Smith said. “I thought they did a great job of doing that tonight.”
With the first game of the season in the rearview mirror, Smith said she hopes to see her team play a lot like they did in the second half against NC State.
“I think they showed a lot of fight and battled and didn’t give up," Smith said. "Those are things you want to see in your team, especially early on.”