As the South Carolina women's soccer team heads into the postseason, senior defender Taylor Bloom has proven herself to be a crucial member of the Gamecocks' back row.
Across her career, Bloom has scored six goals with one assist, has taken 18 shot attempts with 11 on target for the goal and has scored on 33% of her total shots. She has also played 3,704 total minutes, starting in 41 out of 46 games in her career, which could prove to be useful as the team is a hopeful candidate for one of the 34 at-large seeds into the NCAA Tournament.
However, the road to being a consistent player on the field has not been easy. After being given a medical redshirt for a concussion at Pepperdine in 2024, Bloom said that it has been a journey to getting back to playing like herself after transferring onto a new team, but that her teammates have been able to help her along the way.
"I think coming off of being out for a season with a head injury, it really kind of put a lot of doubt in my mind, of like 'Can I still do this? Am I still able to be the same me I was before?'" Bloom said, "But I think coming here into this team and having all the support around me, I think that really just showed me that I can be the player I was, and I can still go out and compete the way I used to, and if not even better, and I can still have that fight in me."
From meshing well with the rest of the back line, Bloom said that her role on the team has evolved to one of making important decisions in game.
"I feel like at first it's just kind of taking in everything around me, but over the games, (Associate Head Coach Jamie Smith) has really challenged me to step up and be a leader in the back, and just use my voice, and help everyone around me the best way I can and just be that supportive voice too," Bloom said. "So, I feel like that has been a really good challenge for me this year so far."
This has been the first SEC Tournament that Bloom has participated in, as well as her first time making the All-SEC team along with her teammates sophomore forward Katie Shea Collins, senior defender Gracie Falla and junior midfielder Cuyler Zulauf.
After losses to Kentucky and Vanderbilt in the regular season, Taylor said she and the team have their eyes set on the end goal to motivate them forward through the postseason.
"I just know all of us are so, so excited and just so fired up to get to go out and just compete with each other again," Bloom said. "I mean, we all made a pact with each other. We're here to finish the job this time, and so (we're) just using that gritty mentality just to go out and take care of the job."
With that mentality in mind, Bloom said proper preparation for the postseason is crucial, especially when it comes to taking care of herself mentally and physically.
"Well, physically it's just doing a lot of treatment in and just taking care of myself, whether that's doing all the little things, all that post and pre-training like rehab and recovery, and eating healthy, getting good sleep and all that," Bloom said. "Mentally, for me, a lot of time I get really anxious for games, but it's a good thing for me because it means I care so much."
Maintaining an overall regular season record of 10-4-5 and a regular season conference record of 4-2-4, the Gamecock women's soccer team has good standings heading into the postseason.
The team was perfect on penalties in the regular season (3-for-3), had 222 total shots for an average of 12.3 shots per game, was third in the SEC with a save percentage of .810, and a +1.06 goal differential, showing that the strength of the Gamecock defense allowed them to outscore their opponents by about a goal each game.
To have strong team statistics such as these that carry into the postseason after ups and downs in the season, Bloom said the key is to go back to the team's roots and play the best way they know how.
"We've had a couple games this year where we have fallen short and it's just not us playing us ... But when we go out and play our best soccer is when we're playing the South Carolina way," Bloom said. "You can have a game plan, and it can all fall apart so easily. If we just kind of go back to our roots of playing our game in the South Carolina way, no one can stop us."
However, Bloom said the best lesson being taken from the regular season into the postseason for her is being there to support her teammates and appreciating every moment with her team.
"Our motivation this year is kind of like how last year ended and how we want to finish the job this year, and in order to do that, we all have to be on the same page," Bloom said. "So, I feel like that's something that our team has done a really good job of, that it's just all coming together and just putting our minds together and having that same motivation to just do it for one another and get the job done."
The No. 7 seed Gamecock women's soccer team lost to the No. 10 seed Alabama Crimson Tide on Sunday in the first round of the SEC Tournament. However, the team can still qualify for a seed in the NCAA tournament.
What's Next?
The Gamecock women's soccer team is hopeful for one of the 34 at-large seeds in the NCAA Tournament, which will begin on Nov. 11 after selections are made on Nov. 10.