In its third meeting in program history against the Georgetown Hoyas on Sunday afternoon at Shaw Field in Washington D.C, the South Carolina women's soccer team took its first loss of the season.
The Hoyas started with offensive pressure against the Gamecocks but were unsuccessful despite two shots from graduate forward Maja Lardner in the first few minutes of the game.
South Carolina responded with two shots of its own from freshman forward Mackenzie Johnson and junior forward Reagan Schubach, but neither were able to score.
Sophomore forward Katie Shea Collins then got in behind again and found the back of the net after 16 minutes, but she was called offside. This was a common theme for the first half, as South Carolina was caught offside four times compared to once for Georgetown.
The Gamecocks kept the offense pressure on the Hoyas despite the penalties, and created its next best chance of the game. Schubach put in a cross for senior forward Kinley Brown, who got a shot on goal but missed high.
In the 38th minute, Georgetown senior forward Natalie Means assisted a shot from midfielder Maya Wiese that was blocked by the hand of junior defender Sophie Johnson. After a video review of the play, the Hoyas were awarded a penalty kick that resulted in a goal scored by Means.
Georgetown's defense held South Carolina for the final seven minutes to close the first half with a lead of 1-0.
In the second half, there was an energy shift in favor of the Hoyas, who applied pressure on the Gamecocks, and forced several saves and blocks from senior goalkeeper Christina Tsaousis, senior defender Taylor Bloom, and senior defender Gracie Falla.
This pressure put South Carolina in a difficult position, as the team tried to mount a comeback in the second half. South Carolina was able to force shots against the Hoyas late in the second half but it was too late to recover from the deficit.
Georgetown survived to get a 1-0 victory in front of the home fans at Shaw Field.
Tactics board
Georgetown started the game with a 3-4-1-2 formation, and overwhelmed the Gamecocks early.
South Carolina managed to find some advantages, though: The team started buildups at Tsaousis' feet to outnumber the two pressing Hoya strikers.
Also the Gamecocks, who were playing in a 4-3-3 formation, brought two midfielders deep to create a numerical advantage against the single attacking midfielder, who had to choose who to cover.
This created spare options for South Carolina to build through the middle, and forced Georgetown to commit extra numbers in the press to cover those options. The numbers pushed forward for the Hoyas created space in behind its defense, which the Gamecocks took advantage of.
Late in the first half and early in the second though, Georgetown switched back and forth between the standard formation of 3-4-1-2, and a 4-4-2, which restricted the ability for South Carolina to find the same spaces it utilized in the first half.
The Hoyas also doubled down on the press, which was a challenge for the Gamecocks to overcome. After that strong second half push from Georgetown, South Carolina never found the offensive momentum needed to score, despite coach Shelley Smith making use of the bench to try and get different looks out on the field.
Too Little, too late
In the second half, South Carolina did not register a shot until the 70th minute and by that time Georgetown had four.
As the Gamecocks tried to tie the game late, the team out-shot the Hoyas three to one in the final 15 minutes, but the team fell just short.
One goal too many
Means and Lardner put a lot of pressure on the Gamecock goal with their constant changing of position, dribbling, and shooting.
Lardner lead the team in shots taken for the Hoyas, but her efforts were rebuffed by Tsaousis, who made two saves.
Means, though, scored her only shot, the penalty kick, after splitting two Gamecock defenders to set up the play that won it. This single moment produced a one-goal deficit too large for the Gamecocks to overcome.
What's next?
The Gamecocks will head to Tuscaloosa to start its SEC schedule against Alabama on Sept. 11. The game will kickoff at 8 p.m. and will be broadcasted on SEC Network.