Second half surge leads Gamecocks past Charleston

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) – Two matches down, two wins down.

Carolina Women’s Soccer notched their second-straight season-opening victory of the 2018 season, defeating College of Charleston 2-0 Sunday night.

After neither side was able to put any offense on the board in the first half, USC scored a pair of goals in the second off the boots of freshman Selma Sol Magnusdottir and sophomore Lauren Chang.

“I was definitely pleased with the second half,” head coach Shelly Smith said after the victory. “Not just because we found a way to put balls in the back of the net, but because I thought we just played much better and we connected passes consistently.”

The goal marks Magnusdottir’s first as a member of the Gamecocks. She has now been a part of both game-winning goals this season, as she assisted on the lone goal on Friday night against Fordham.

“She brings a lot of experience with her,” Smith said of Magnusdottir. “She has played with her full national team with her country [Iceland]. She’s played against some of the toughest teams in the world. She’s played with older players, so she is not a typical freshman.”

Just six minutes after the Gamecocks took the lead, they added insurance. Simone Wark battled the ball away from Cougar defenders and found Chang near the exact spot Magnusdottir buried the first goal. The sophomore wasted no time, sending a bending shot with her left foot to the left side of the goal.

Although the goals were the exciting singular moments of the game, it was the Gamecock defense that kept the College of Charleston at bay for nearly the entire contest. South Carolina allowed just two shots in the victory, with none on frame. The clean sheet marks Mikayla Krzeczowski’s 26th of her career, inching her closer to the top in Gamecock history.

“Mikayla has stepped up even more this year as a leader in goal,” Smith said about the junior. “I think that has led to us being able to add things to our game plan when we have her back there.”

With two games under their belt, the Gamecocks will remain home on Thursday as they welcome in-state rival Clemson (1-1-0, 0-0-0 ACC) to Stone Stadium. Clemson is coming off a trip to Oregon where they defeated Oregon State in overtime and fell to Oregon 1-0. The contest will be the first meeting in the Palmetto series for the 2018-19 school year.

Gamecocks Athletics contributed to this article.