The Gamecocks are ready for another No.1... but is another No.1-ranked team ready for the Gamecocks? After a win over Texas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at home at Stone Stadium, South Carolina Women's Soccer heads west to California to take on No.1-ranked Stanford. The Gamecocks will look to end The Cardinal's 47-game home winning streak, the second-longest in NCAA Division I history.
"We're ready to go to the west coast and show those teams what we're all about," said head coach Shelley Smith. "I think we're obviously the underdog in the game but this program has been in this position before and we believe we can win a game on that day. So that's what we will be bringing out to Stanford."
Carolina has had several big road wins this season that helped deliver their first-ever regular season SEC Championship. They knocked LSU out of the tie for first place in the SEC with a 4-1 upset on Senior Night, the Tigers' first home loss of the season. They then ended the regular season with a huge 2-1 victory in Gainesville to claim the SEC title, a crown Florida had worn for five straight seasons.
"We know we're capable of beating any team on any given day and that's what you take into a team like Stanford," said Smith. "We've already talked to the team about where we were as a program [in 2007] when we had to take on North Carolina who's been the powerhouse for years. We had to go in and play them at home and they had never lost a home opener in their 29 year history before. If you go into a game believing that you can win, it's possible."
"Going into Stanford is going to be a tall task but on that day, we can be the best team. Anything is possible. And to see that other teams here at South Carolina have knocked off number one teams in recent history, we hope to be another one to add to that list."
Women's Soccer got their first win over a top-ranked team with a 1-0 season-opening defeat of No.1 North Carolina in 2007, ending a 27 game winning streak for the Tar Heels.
Senior forward Kayla Grimsley, who broke Carolina's career points record this season, says the team is not discouraged by having to face the No.1 team so early in the tournament, but excited.
"I think it's a huge opportunity for us to prove the talent that we have as a team. And I think that if you're not going to beat them in round two then you're not going to beat them in the final round," said Grimsley. "You have to beat good teams in order to win championships and we're ready to go because for us it's just another game and another opportunity to play a great team in the country
South Carolina and Stanford will face off Friday night at 10:00 p.m. ET at Stanford. Any Gamecock fans in the area who would like to go cheer on the team, tickets are available through GoStanford.com, via phone at 1-800-STANFORD or in person at the Stanford ticket office at Gate 2 at Stanford Stadium. Live stats will be available via Gametracker and you can also follow the action with South Carolina Women's Soccer on Facebook and Twitter.
Click here to hear more from Coach Smith and Kayla about the match-up.
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