On a warm Sunday evening at Stone Stadium, South Carolina women's soccer followed up its dramatic victory in the Palmetto Series with a win over Furman.
The Gamecocks won 4-0, repeating its four-goal margin of victory from its previous matchup with the Paladins in 2024, when they won 5-1 at home.
South Carolina took control of possession from the start and had an early shot by senior forward Maryn Wolf saved by Furman junior goalkeeper Reese DeJong.
Furman responded to South Carolina's early momentum with chances of its own, and a shot from former Gamecock and senior midfielder with the Paladins, Bri Pinasco, was saved by graduate student goalkeeper Christina Tsaousis.
South Carolina re-established its attack after Furman's wave of momentum, and graduate student defender Taylor Bloom headed a chance from a corner kick over the crossbar nine and a half minutes into the contest.
On the following goal kick, senior defender Reagan Schubach won first contact, heading the ball toward the edge of Furman's box. Senior forward Sydney Middaugh then tracked down the loose ball, navigated around DeJong while keeping her balance and rolled it into an open net to give the Gamecocks the lead.
Roughly five minutes later, on a South Carolina corner kick, Bloom flicked the incoming cross back across the face of goal at the back post, and Wolf poked it home to give South Carolina a two-goal advantage.
More waves of South Carolina attack ensued, and in the 28th minute, another breakthrough arrived from a corner kick. Sophomore midfielder Ava Tutas whipped in a cross right on top of DeJong in goal, and senior defender Amanda Patrick leapt highest to nod it into the net.
Eight minutes later, the Gamecocks had another corner and another goal, with Schubach adding a goal to her assist, as she poked the ball in past DeJong in a goalmouth scramble that ensued after another difficult-to-handle whipped delivery from Tutas.
The second half featured no goals and a lot of rotation in players, but the Gamecocks outshot the Paladins 11-1 to close the game after a 13-to-1 shot advantage in the first half.
Head coach Shelley Smith was pleased with the team's continued efforts in the second half.
"You want to see your younger players, players that aren't getting as much time ... Can they maintain the level you want to see?" Smith said. "And it was nice to see a lot of players get in the game and continue to create chances."
Set Pieces, Set Pieces
South Carolina scored three goals from corners against the Paladins, the product of set-piece play and specific kick techniques to put pressure on De Jong and scramble up Furman's marking assignments.
"We talk about set pieces being the difference in many games," Smith said. "We had chances to serve the ball in, but if they got a corner, it can be very effective."
Tactics Board
Furman approached the game with a more defensive 4-1-4-1 formation that didn't press beyond midfield very often, with only one or two of its attackers applied doing so. South Carolina took advantage of this to trap Furman in its defensive half for long periods of the game.
In early buildup, South Carolina's outside midfielder in its 4-4-2 diamond formation would often stay wide when the ball was on their side of the field to provide options to progress into Furman's half through the rest of its defensive structure after navigating the few higher pressing players.
After entering Furman's half, the Paladins retreated, and South Carolina's strikers and midfielders on that side could check back to receive the ball while the fullback pushed forward.
From there, the Gamecocks established themselves quickly and combined to attack the goal, either working diagonally inside or going outside to deliver crosses into the box.
On the underloaded opposite-side of the field from the ball, the other striker and the opposite side midfielder pushed to attack the back post, and several crosses found them.
Furman deep defensive positioning also allowed South Carolina's center backs to carry forward with the ball and make probing passes themselves once settled in Furman's half. As more players pushed forward, it squeezed the field even further for the Paladins, who were under consistent pressure.
What's Next?
South Carolina will have a pair of road games at Wyoming on Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. and at Colorado State on Aug. 30 at 1:30 p.m.