The South Carolina women's soccer team celebrates after defeating No. 13 Auburn on Friday. | Gamecocksonline.com
The South Carolina women's soccer team celebrates after defeating No. 13 Auburn on Friday. | Gamecocksonline.com
Ryan Gareis' goal in the opening 1:13 of the second half proved to be the difference, lifting the South Carolina women's soccer team over No. 13 Auburn, 3-2, Friday night at Stone Stadium.
The win was the fourth straight for the 25th-ranked Gamecocks, who improved to 9-2 overall and 4-0 in the SEC East.
Friday's game was played in front of the largest home crowd of the season at Stone Stadium, according to a gamecocksonline.com press release.
"It was awesome," said South Carolina midfielder Lauren Chang, who had two assists, including the helper on Gareis' game-clincher. "It was so great to have all the kids out, people here for mental health awareness wearing green.
"The fans, they're the backbone of everything we do. They give us the home field advantage. The fans give us that energy every time they come to the stadium."
Jyllissa Harris and Catherine Barry also scored for the Gamecocks, who led 2-0 at the half.
"We were organized and turned them over well," South Carolina coach Shelley Smith said. "When we did, we were more dangerous than we had been coming into this game. We executed our set pieces pretty well. We had some good decision making on the ball, especially in the first half, that broke apart the defense."
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