SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums College, Pro & International Soccer W-Soccer: South Carolina hosts Furman in NCAA Tournament First Round

South Carolina (16-3-2) will host Palmetto State rival Furman (17-3-2) in the First Round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament. The match will take place at 7 p.m., on Friday at Columbia's Stone Stadium.

64 teams make the NCAA Tournament with the Final Four advancing to the College Cup in Cary, N.C. USC is the #3 seed in the Chapel Hill, N.C., Region. Other seeded teams in this region are: #1 North Carolina; #2 UCLA; and #4 Texas A&M.

In the November 11 NCAA RPIs, the Gamecocks are rated #14 while the Southern Conference Champion Paladins are rated #65.

University of South Carolina
The Gamecocks, who finished third (8-2-1, 25 points) in the Southeastern Conference during the regular season and advanced to the Semifinals of the SEC Tournament last week at Orange Beach, Ala., are led by: junior goalkeeper Sabrina D'Angelo (two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year 2011 & 2013, three-time All-SEC, and 2011 SEC Freshman of the Year); junior center back Taylor Leach (All-SEC First Team); and Anderson native freshman Chelsea Drennan of T.L. Hanna HS (SEC All-Freshman Team). Coach Shelley Smith's squad is making its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in the past seven seasons after missing out on the postseason tourney in 2012.

Furman University
The Paladins, winners of six-straight and unbeaten in their past eight matches, are led by a pair of Palmetto State products: Stephanie DeVita (39 pts, 15g) of Simpsonville (Hillcrest HS) and India Robinson (17a) of Camden (HS), who lead Furman in points, goals, and assists, respectively. Coach Andrew Burr (a two-sport standout at Furman in football and soccer) has a roster of eight South Carolinians and the rest from the US Youth Soccer region states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina women’s soccer team earned its sixth trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last seven years as the 2013 selections of the 64-team field were announced Monday afternoon. The No. 3 seed Gamecocks (16-3-2) will host the first round of the tournament as they welcome Furman (17-3-2). It is just the second national seed in program history.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday night at Stone Stadium. It is the third time since 2009 that the Gamecocks have hosted an NCAA Tournament game.

It will be the 15th meeting all-time between the two sides, with South Carolina holding a 12-2-1 edge. The Gamecocks have won the last five contests.

Furman earned an automatic bid to the tournament after winning the Southern Conference tournament. The Paladins have won six-straight matches and also captured the SoCon regular season title with an 8-1-1 league mark.

The Gamecocks and Furman played three common opponents in 2013 – Clemson, Georgia and Mississippi State. The Paladins posted a 4-0 win at Mississippi State and dropped matches at Clemson (0-1) and Georgia (0-2). South Carolina recorded a 3-1-0 mark against the opponents with the lone loss coming on the road at Georgia. The Gamecocks avenged the defeat with a 4-0 victory over the Bulldogs at last week’s SEC Tournament.

South Carolina enters postseason play with a 16-3-2 record and was ranked No. 9 in the NSCAA national rankings last week, its third week being ranked in the poll’s Top 10 this season. The Gamecocks finished third in the SEC at 8-2-1. The squad finished the regular season with a .842 winning percentage, the best regular-season percentage in school history.

For the first time in program history, Carolina earned two wins over Top 10 teams, defeating then-No. 7 Duke, 1-0, in the second game of the season, before topping then-No. 8 Florida 2-1 in double overtime in Gainesville, Fla. At home this season, the Gamecocks are a perfect 10-0-0 this year, the first time in school history that they have won 10 games at home during a regular season.

Against this year’s 64-team-field, South Carolina has a 5-1-2 record, posting wins over Duke, Northeastern, Arkansas, Florida and Kentucky and picking up draws at Boston University and Ole Miss.

Sounds like could be a good match.
Wish I could be there to watch.

I am wondering how many girls from SC are playing in the NCAA tournament this weekend. There are at least 8 or 9 that are either from SC or played club in SC on Furman's team. There are SC girls playing for USC, Virginia Tech, Penn, and Wake Forest. Valdosta State, Lenoir Rhyne, Columbus State, Belmont Abbey, are all in the D2 tournament and have players from SC. I am sure I missed a few.

It's great to so many local girls doing so well.Good luck to all!

Furman has 10 on roster that played for CESA, USC has 2.

11/12/13



NCAA women's soccer tournament: USC gets date at home
The Gamecocks, unbeaten at Stone, host Furman in NCAA first round
Neil White, The State

Great pic of D'Angelo (although photoshop on the ankles is a little sloppy), she's truly a great player. Hopefully the Furman keeper that currently leads NCAA in save percentage will have a good game, so Furman doesn't get too embarrassed in their effort. USC is definitely deserving of it's ranking and seed.

Gamecocks Thrash Paladins, 5-0