South Carolina Gamecocks

Nov. 4, 2010

Recap |  Final Stats |  Photo Gallery 

South Carolina Head Coach Shelley Smith
On the victory
"The wind played a factor obviously in the match. Both teams did well when they had to win. That's something we had to weather. In the second half Kentucky did a good job to put the ball away, but we weathered it well. It was too bad we gave up one with five minutes left, but we did well under that circumstance to get chances and keep the ball under that pressure of not being able to play forward a lot. The momentum changes when you go down a goal. To come back and fight through another 10 minutes of having the wind against you, a lot of people played a role today. In PK's, it's a tough thing to lose by, but we've been here before in that scenario. A lot of players stepped up and did what they need to do. It was a great job by Mollie Patton in goal."

On playing two games in two days
"We knew it was something we'd deal with if we went through. This whole tournament is a test in endurance. I feel good about our depth. We have players that didn't play a lot of minutes that have given us good minutes all year. We look forward to turning around and playing tomorrow."

South Carolina senior forward Brooke Jacobs
"It was a great feeling to come back (and score a goal). I feel like I'm back in the game. It was a great feeling for our team to put us up one (goal). Now we have a chance to go on to the next game."

On advancing to the semifinals
"We're super excited. We want to stay the whole time and go for another ring. We'll be pumped and ready for our semifinal game."

South Carolina junior forward Kayla Grimsley
On becoming the first Gamecock to have 10 goals and 10 assists in a season
"It's awesome. Like I said before I was only one assist away from someone else doing their job. Today, Danielle Au got herself open on a very calm Kentucky defense and Brooke was in the perfect position. Danielle played a perfect ball and we scored. It's just incredible the build up that we had. We were calm and composed. The wind out here was crazy. It's just good to get that. Being in the 10-10-30 club is an accomplishment and I'm really excited about it."

On hitting the final penalty kick today after missing her penalty kick in the SEC Tourney last year
"I was more confident this game, I think. I was amped. I was ready to play. Our girls did their jobs and Mollie did her job. I said that I was going to put this in. I had to. There was a lot riding on this game. It was either this or go home. Last time we made far and made it to the finals, so I wasn't as amped as the last time to take it. I was just more calm this time, and I knew I had to put it in in order for us to stay here and advance. That was the only thing in my mind, to put it in and not let the team down."

South Carolina Notes
With the assist, Kayla Grimsley becomes the first Gamecock to earn 10 goals and 10 assists in a season. Grimsley now has 11 goals and 10 assists for 32 points. It was her first assist since the Gamecocks defeated Mississippi State (7-0) on Oct. 3.

Brooke Jacobs earned her first goal since missing four matches due to a hamstring injury. Jacobs last scored against Auburn on Oct. 8 before going down in South Carolina's next game against Alabama. Her first full game back was last week's season finale against Florida.

The match is South Carolina's second consecutive SEC Tournament match to go into overtime and also second straight to go to a penalty kick shootout. The Gamecocks played LSU to a 1-1 draw in regulation before winning the SEC title in penalty kicks in the 2009 SEC Championship match.

South Carolina limited Kentucky to only two shots on goal in the match that lasted 110 minutes. The Gamecocks have now held 13 of their last 14 opponents to four shots on goal or less total.