USC Women Match Program’s Best Final Ranking
COLUMBIA, S.C. (USC SID) — South Carolina finished the 2014 campaign ranked No. 9 in the NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I National Poll, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America announced Tuesday. The result matches the 2009 squad‘s final ranking as the highest in program history and is the second-straight top-15 finish by head coach Shelley Smith‘s team. This season, South Carolina advanced to the Round of 16 for the second time in program history and punched a ticket to its first NCAA Quarterfinal. The Gamecocks finished their historic season with a 14-6-5 record, including a 5-3-3 mark in SEC play. In the run to the program‘s first-ever Elite Eight appearance, nationally seeded South Carolina registered three-straight shutouts in the NCAA Tournament, advancing past No. 21 Clemson and Seattle, who received votes in the final poll, on penalty kicks before taking down No. 8 North Carolina, 1-0, in the Round of 16. The Gamecocks‘ NCAA run came to an end against eventual national champion Florida State in the national quarterfinal. Three Gamecocks earned All-SEC honors for their performances this season. Senior goalkeeper Sabrina D‘Angelo and senior defender Taylor Leach were named First-Team All-SEC, while Savannah McCaskill garnered Second-Team All-SEC accolades and took home SEC Freshman of the Year honors. D‘Angelo and Leach earned First-Team All-Region honors from the NSCAA, and D‘Angelo became the program‘s first two-time First-Team NSCAA All-American last week. The Gamecocks were joined by three other SEC programs in the top 25 – College Cup participant Texas A&M (4), Florida (7) and Kentucky (17). NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Women‘s Division I – Final 1. Florida State 2. Virginia 3. Stanford 4. Texas A&M 5. UCLA 6. Penn State 7. Florida 8. North Carolina 9. South Carolina 10. Pepperdine 11. Notre Dame 12. Virginia Tech 13. Wisconsin 14. Texas Tech 15. West Virginia 16. UCF 17. Kentucky 18. Washington 19. DePaul 20. California 21. Clemson 22. BYU 23. Kansas 24. Georgetown 25. Rutgers
