After losing two of their top three scorers, a lot of people were counting the Gamecocks out. But they're back and better than I've ever seen them. They completely dominated Washington 3-1 this weekend in Columbia, outshooting the Huskies 21-8, and they're 6-0 (soon to be 8-0). Credit has to go to an outstanding recruiting class, a group that is headlined by Junior College Player of the Year Ricky Quest but is a lot deeper than that. Freshman defender Josh Alcala is already playing like a seasoned vet. Freshmen midfielders Willis Forko and Lawson Vaughn have added crucial speed along with sophomore Anthony Stovall, and freshman forward Ryan Deter is the team's second-leading scorer -- and that's coming off the bench. In addition to an already dependable defense and star scorer Jordan Quinn (five header goals I think already this season), these newcomers make Carolina a national title contender. I called it at the beginning of the season, but now I'm even more convinced that this team has what it takes to finally break through. The test will certainly come Oct. 6 when we take on Clemson. The damn Tigers have beat us like six or seven straight times. But they have to come to the Graveyard, so we have that on our side. Duke beat CU this weekend. The Cocks beat Duke 3-0 in Durham. Is this the year? If not, look for me to post a suicide thread shortly after. But after seeing this team's start, I'm excited about our chances.
I'd like to hear from FIXXXXXXXXXXXXER and other Clemson heads on this. I'm sure there will be an excuse for the Duke defeat, and some trash talk as well.
J Blaz Great to hear from you! Let me get the heavy hitter out of the way. Clemson Soccer OWNS the "graveyard." They just lease it back to USC so they can have a home schedule. USC has a HUGE monkey on their backs, b/c no player there has ever beaten Clemson and they don't believe they can. All things equal, in Clemson or Columbia, Tigers will win. As for the "back and better than ever" remember yourself. Yes, Clemson lost to Duke. It's the ACC and you have to show for EVERY game, so their are no excuses for that. I've had the opportunity to see quite a few of Clemson's games over the past few years, best soccer anywhere near ATL. The one thing that I've observed is there play after a loss. They are a very good team coming off the rebound. In fact, let's go back to 1998, the year AFTER Clemson put the Mathis/Wolff Cocks out of the NCAA's. It was in that year that Clemson went to Duke as the #1 team, lost and then rolled off 17 straight wins. Learned from the mistakes and breakdowns and it benefited them the entire season. So, the loss at Duke is nothing to push the panic button for Clemson and certainly shouldn't give the Cocks any security for the game in October. As far as USC beating Duke 3-0 and Clemson losing to Duke 2-1, consider this... UNC (defending natty champs) lost to Davidson... Davidson drew Lehigh... Lehigh lost to Delaware... Delaware lost to Lafayette... Lafayette lost to Columbia... So, do you know what that means??? Absolutely nothing....
No excuses from the tigers, we did not play well at Duke and got beat!!!! Like you said the Tigers have owned the Gamecocks for a few years. Guess with the mention of suicide you are not as confident as you lead us to believe? Hope you don't resort to suicide but just in case have your insurance policy up to date as the Tigers will be up to the challange and beat the Gamecocks.
JBLAZINI.... glad to see your sticking your neck out on behalf of the gamecocks after a couple of victories....sure you can make comparisons based upon the Blue Devils score, and you won't get much response.. However, you might want to wait until they play a quality opponent before you start handing them the trophy....Washington at home they should handle...beating Duke on the road, good victory..I for one am glad to see USC doing well...it means no excuses for them at the graveyard on the 6th!!!
No chance for Carolina If the Shamecocks couldn't win with Mathis and Wolff on the same team then they have no chance with their current crop of long ball Larry's and Two Foot terrors. I'd say you're looking at another Clemson win, money on it anyone? The Chicken curse will continue.......
same old story it seems to me that carolina looks like a national championship contender early on every year. somehow they always end up a very mediocre team with a lot of very talented players with bad attitudes. generally very good at telling you how great they are, not quite as adept at showing you on the field. look for them to fold again this year when they run into some adversity (in the form of another loss to clemson in october) and take an early exit from the tournament even though they "should've" gone much farther.
Re: same old story I can agree with your post. But I don't know, this year feels different. It should be a great game with CU on the 6th, I am looking forward to it. Perhaps having a young team will help, because they have no bad memories of last season at "historic" Riggs Field and games from years past. I'm not completely confident of a Carolina win, but I'm as confident as I've ever been, and that's something I guess.
confidence J Blaz - I think your confidence is misguided enthusiasm....You are right, though, at the very least, it will be entertaining...
Well, J Blaz is right ... here is the deal Three players for SC have stepped up big so far this year: Jordan Quinn -- no longer has the pressure on him to do it all. He is receiving good serves consistently and has the nicest first touch of anyone in college soccer. Folks can't load up on Jordan since Ricky Quest (think of a more skilled thinking Joey Worthen) and Ryan Deter can kill you. The second player to step up is Michael Bachmeyer in the goal -- he has made very consistent saves due in no small part to a strong organized defense led by a healthy Tim Glowienka, Rob Rosenberg and Jordan Smith. Finally Jack Cummings in the midfield has matured as a player. He has always had the skills, now he makes good decisions. D. Moore in the midfield in as consistent as ever. The bottom line is this ... if you play the cocks, you are going to have to leave it all on the field. With all due respect to real talent at Clemson, Wake, and Furman, we look forward to your taking your best shot.
SC I watched the SC - Duke game, and it was interesting to me how SC sat back and looked to counter. They really didn't possess the ball much at all...they don't play attractive soccer, but they did take advantage of their chances. If Duke was healthy for that game, it would have been a different story.
Re: Well, J Blaz is right ... here is the deal USC will do well to get a point from this trio...I don't see it happening. They may draw Wake, but they will lose to Furman and Clemson.
Bold Statement another bold prediciton..please if you are going to make these outlandish claims, don't back down when you take some criticism... maybe you should think before you talk, but if my memory serves me correctly USC vs. Clemson (past 7 games) 0-6-1 USC vs. Wake Forest (past 7 games) 2-3-2 USC vs. Furman (past 7 games) 4-1-2 for an overall record of 6-10-5 not exactly dominant against all 3 teams...maybe one or two of them won't show up and you will get your wins?????
Re: Bold Statement I think this is my favorite... 0-7-1 would be even better...if we are lucky we can get it to 0-8-1 before the year is out...
Re: Bold Statement What do those past records mean? Zilch. It's new teams, new season. The Clemson one is significant because of that big 0, but the Wake F.U. and F.U. records really don't mean jack. You all will see. When Carolina wrecks shop, I want apologies. This year is going to be different. Our squad is money.
the cocks are money this year. we are the deepest ive ever seen. depth is how unc won the title last year, and its how the real carolina will do it this year. furman: good but sorry, not this year. same goes for wake. and clempson will finally lose to the gamecocks. i do not see the tigers coming down to cola and leaving with any points. the cocks are just too good. if they lose at all this year itll be some garbage game, but they will def have their A game for the tigers. this is the first time in years when USC has a better squad than CU. word on it.
South Carolina vs Clemson, Wake, Furman In this set of 3 games, SC will get 6-7 goals, opponents 3-4. My guesses are: SC 2, Clemson 1 (OT) or vice-versa. This game is a toss-up. Slight edge to Clemson in the goal, slightly bigger edge to the SC attackers. It is going to come down to a lucky bounce or deflection. SC 3, Wake 1. If Wake has a decent defense, maybe 2-1 Carolina. Haven't heard much about the Deacons this year. Carolina by 2. SC 2, Furman 1. This is always a battle, as hard fought as SC vs. Clemson. Carolina by 1 goal. From USCSports.com: The team is ranked 20th nation-wide in scoring offense with 15 total goals and a 2.5 goals per game average. Senior Jordan Quinn and freshman Ryan Deter, both forwards, lead the Gamecocks with four goals scored each. USC is 18th nation-wide in goals against average allowing only 0.67 goals against per-game. Senior goalkeeper Michael Bachmeyer anchors the defense and has a 0.67 goals against average and a total of 16 saves on the season.
Re: Really i am I must say that this is a great first post for someone who claims to be a Jedi Master in their BS bio. I only hope that we can be lucky enough to receive these insightful comments from you as the season progresses. Bet your a$$ that it's going to take more than Jedi mind tricks for USC to beat Clemson...
You are right it will take more than Jedi mind tricks to defeat Clemson. It will take skill and talent, which Carolina has more of.
I'm with you Fix, the Tigers are going to roll all over USC. Saw them play UW last weekend, they were good but it was more like UW was bad. Despite SC always having a strong schedule I think Clemson always has the edge because of their acc schedule. And would go on to say that IF USC soccer could ever find a way to get into the ACC, which probably will never happen, but if, they would definitely contend for titles, but until then, there just a good team that gets good results but never will really get it done. Their JuCo transfer ain't so sweet, Jordan Quinn is for real, but overall average. Clemson wins.
I have not had the pleasure to see the Cocks play this year, but what I'm hearing and reading is positive. From my perspective, the problem that USC has had in the past has had nothing to do with talent. They consistently rank at the top in recruiting classes. The problem is DESIRE and HEART. I have watched many Carolina matches where it was clearly evident they were the better side, but as a unit they did not seem to be playing with much emotion. Talent and skill certainly account for a lot, but the desire to work hard for each other on the pitch is equally important. Now I made an observation about their early exit in the NCAA's last year. I discussed how Carolina has had some great teams, but tend to drop the big game (lose early in the tournament). My thought was that at what point does this reflect on Coach Berson. Now he (and staff) have always one a great job recruiting, but does he motivate his players to work hard for each other and the team. Needless to say this wasn't taken well by some or one BSer.... Throughout the years I have discussed this with players he has coached. The impression I get in almost all cases is that thier time in the program was not a positive experience. That being said, I am a huge Gamecock fan in all sports and I hope this is the year they beat up on Clemson and go far into the NCAA's. I will be at the graveyard in Oct and hope to see a talented and HUNGRY Gamecock team.
Is USC for real or .......... After reading all these great things about USC, and how they are going to take to the good ole Clemson Tigers .... I must say that I bet "you" anything that these comments they all come from either a USC player or a staff. As mentioned before from talking to some of USC's former and current players ..... I don't think that Berson has the skills that Coach Adair has to motivate his players ... It is pretty sad when you have a former player that says "We were good when coach Adair was here" .... what do you say to that. Well, if USC really wants to beat the Tigers this year or any time in the near future .... I would suggest to try to get coach Adair back to the Graveyard. However, I don't see that happening anytime soon, b/c he would not leave the ACC or Clemson to go play in a conference, well I forgot USC does not have a conference..... so that's all said !!!!! "GO TIGERS!!!!!!" right FIXXXER