Sept. 29, 2002
Columbia, S.C. – Sophomore Ashley Williams’ goal at 100:07 in the first overtime propelled the South Carolina women’s soccer team to a 1-0 victory vs. the five-time SEC champion Florida Gators. Carolina’s win vs. the Gators was the school’s first in ten attempts and improves USC to 8-2 on the season and 1-0 in Southeastern Conference play. The loss drops Florida to 3-6-1 on the year and 0-1 in the SEC.
“This is a tremendous win for our program and I am very proud of how our team competed this afternoon,” said USC head coach Shelley Smith. “This builds confidence for our team and I think we gained respect in the SEC with this win. When we play the game together we’re a very strong team. Our teamwork throughout the season has been great.”
Junior goalkeeper Elise Matthews improved to 6-2 on the season and earned her second shutout of the year. Matthews finished the match with eight saves.
The lone goal of the match came with less then five minutes remaining in the first half. Senior midfielder Melinda Carter’s pass found Williams who launched a 10-yard shot pass Gator goalkeeper Jordan Kellgren to the left corner giving USC a 1-0 victory. Williams’ goal was her fifth of the season and moved her to a tie for 14th place on the All-Time Gamecock Scoring List with 14 points.
South Carolina now owns a five-game winning streak, the second longest in school history. The school’s longest winning streak is six, set in 1999. Carolina’s win vs. Florida also marks the Gamecocks’ first win to open up the SEC season since 1999 when USC defeated Vanderbilt 1-0. This was Florida’s first defeat to open SEC play and marks the Gators’ fourth loss in eight seasons of matches in the SEC.
South Carolina will travel on the road next weekend for a pair of matches. Carolina opens the trip on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Kentucky and concludes it with a 2 p.m. match at Vanderbilt.
