Clemson Women’s Soccer Team to Face #21 South Carolina On the Road Friday Night

Sept. 8, 2010

CLEMSON, SC – The Clemson women’s soccer team will travel to Columbia, SC this weekend to compete in the Carolina’s Cup. The Tigers will face 21st-ranked South Carolina on Friday, September 10 at 7:30 PM at the Gamecocks’ Eugene E. Stone III Stadium. In its second game of the tournament, Clemson will face High Point on Sunday, September 12 at 12:00 PM, also at Stone Stadium.

Clemson has a 5-0 record on the season after defeating Furman (1-0) and North Florida (2-1) last weekend. Sophomore forward Maddy Elder leads the Tigers in scoring with 11 points (four goals, three assists). The Roanoke, VA native currently ranks in a tie for second among all ACC players in goals (4), goals per game (0.80) and points per game (2.20), and in a tie for third in points (11).

Freshman forwards Jackie Dutton (Bridgeport, OH) and Hailey Karg (Salt Lake City, UT) rank second and third on the team in scoring with five (two goals, one assist) and four (two goals) points, respectively.

Freshman goalkeeper Lauren Arnold has recorded 21 saves and given up just two goals in 431 minutes and has started all five games for Clemson this season. The native of Hoover, AL currently ranks second in the ACC in saves (21) and third in saves per game (4.20), save percentage (.913) and goals against average (0.42).

South Carolina is 3-1-1 on the season, most recently playing to a 1-1 draw against #25 Arizona State in Columbia. The Gamecocks are led in scoring by junior forward Kayla Grimsley with one goal and four assists for six points on the season. Senior Mollie Patton has posted 27 saves and given up two goals in 470 minutes in the net for South Carolina.

Clemson has a 10-5 overall record in the series against South Carolina, however the Gamecocks have won the last two contests between the in-state rivals. Last year, the 18th-ranked Gamecocks defeated the Tigers 5-0 at Historic Riggs Field. The most recent meeting between the two teams in Columbia was a 1-0 South Carolina victory in 2008.

High Point is 1-4 so far in 2010, most recently falling to #15 Duke by a score of 5-0 in Durham, NC. Freshman forward Becca Hemby has scored the Panthers’ lone goal on the season and junior keeper Andrea Ritchie has tallied 21 saves in 371 minutes in goal.

Sunday’s meeting will be the first ever between Clemson and High Point in women’s soccer.