Cougars Travel to No. 5 South Carolina On Sunday

Sunday, August 19

Columbia, SC - Stone Stadium

7:00 PM

College of Charleston

#5 South Carolina

8/18/2018 2:25:00 PM | Women's Soccer

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (1-0) at #5 SOUTH CAROLINA (1-0)
Game #2 • Sunday Aug. 19, 2018 • 7:00 p.m. ET
Columbia, S.C. • Stone Stadium
Series: Charleston trail 1-4-2 overall
Last: Aug. 8, 2009: South Carolina won 2-0

Stats: StatBroadcast.com

CHARLESTON, S.C. - The College of Charleston women's soccer team begin a three-game road test when they travel to Columbia, S.C., for a Sunday evening matchup against No. 5 South Carolina.

Scouting South Carolina
Ranked fifth in the nation by the U.S. Soccer preseason poll, the Gamecocks defeated Fordham 1-0 on Friday night in their season opener behind freshman Riley Tanner's goal. South Carolina have been predicted to finish fourth in the SEC by the leagues coaches after ending the 2017 season in the NCAA semifinals. Five student-athletes have been named to the SEC watch list including England international Grace Fisk who is currently representing her nation at the U20 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Series History
The game will mark the eighth time the teams have met in history with Charleston trailing 1-4-2 all time. The teams last met in an exhibition in 2017, South Carolina coming away with a 2-0 win. This will be the first meeting between the teams under Head Coach Christian Michner.

Last Meeting With South Carolina
The last regular season meeting between the teams was back in 2009 with the Gamecocks winning 2-0.

Quotable – Head Coach Christian Michner
"In-state rivalries are huge. I don't know if they'd consider us [College of Charleston] a main rival but we're really excited to play the Gamecocks. They're one of the top teams in the country and to be able to have a game like this so early in the season is going to be a great test for the Cougars and we're excited to be able to get out there and compete."

Notables
• Five players played a full 90 minutes in the season opener including four of the five back line; Genevieve Henderson, Rachel Kim, Meredith Tunney and Leah Deutsch
• In her debut for CofC, freshman Hannah Farmer got her first assist by setting up Laura Ortega in the 2-0 win over North Florida
• Ortega is six goals from tying the career program record and seven points from the most in program history
• Genevieve Henderson continues to climb the goalkeeper career record books in minutes played (8th with 2169), save percentage (6th with .765) and goals against average (5th with 1.34)
• Senior forward Laura Ortega was named CAA Preseason Co-Player of the Year
• Ortega and senior defender Maddy Brill-Edwards were named CAA Preseason All-CAA selections

Friday Night Lights
The College opened the 2018 season with a dominating display on Friday evening against North Florida. Alyssa Beck and Laura Ortega scored a goal in each half to get Michner's ninth season in charge started with a win. Genevieve Henderson made four saves, only one in the last 30 minutes, with the Charleston defense proving hard to crack in their home opener.

Record Hunting
CAA Preseason Co-Player of the Year Laura Ortega continues to edge closer to program history. Ortega is six goals from tying the career record of 24 set by Kristin Rhyne (2003-05) and just seven points from tying the points record (59, also set by Rhyne). Ortega is currently third in career points with 52, tied sixth in goals with 18 and is fourth all-time in assists with 16 (six from the career record).

Cougars Summary
The College has been picked to finish sixth in the Colonial Athletic Association by the league's coaches. Charleston returns 24 letterwinners, including nine starters, while adding 11 newcomers to the roster. The 2018 squad will be led by 2017 All-CAA selection Laura Ortega who led the offense last season with eight goals and five assists; good for 21 points. Senior defender Maddy Brill-Edwards is a Preseason All-CAA selection alongside Ortega.