South Carolina women's soccer set to compete for SEC Tournament championship after upset victory over No. 1 seed Mississippi State

South Carolina midfielder Brianna Behm has a knack for coming in clutch for the Gamecock women’s soccer team.

Two years ago, Behm found the back of the net in the 2022 SEC Tournament Championship against Alabama. That strike proved to be the only goal either team scored, giving South Carolina its second conference title in four years.

The Gamecocks were looking to advance to another SEC Tournament championship game when it faced Mississippi State on Thursday afternoon. And Behm would once again play a pivotal role in the team’s postseason success, scoring two goals in South Carolina’s 3-0 victory over the Bulldogs in the conference tournament semifinals.

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Thursday’s match began just like the Gamecocks’ previous contest in the SEC Tournament did. Neither team generated many sustained attacks in the game’s opening minutes.

Both South Carolina and Mississippi State exchanged scoring opportunities after the 15-minute mark, though. Bulldogs forward Aitana Martinez-Montoya logged the first shot of the match on a long-distance effort that was comfortably saved by Christina Tsaousis. In the 18th minute, Katie Shea Collins forced a diving save out of Mississippi State goalkeeper Maddy Anderson at the other end of the pitch.

Those two shots would prove to be both team’s best attempts towards goal during the first half. Of the two squads, the Bulldogs were the more offensively potent, logging four shots to the Gamecocks’ one. Both teams earned two corner kicks by the halftime break.

Despite Mississippi State’s first-half offensive showing, the Behm show took over after the intermission.

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Just two minutes after the referee blew his whistle to begin the second half, South Carolina found itself up a goal. Collins and Catherine Barry participated in a passing sequence near the outer edge of the Bulldogs’ penalty area, where Barry eventually pushed the ball with the outside of her foot to Behm. Behm then curled a shot just outside the six-yard box into the top far corner of the goal on her first touch.

The Gamecocks would double their advantage one minute later. Maggie Taitano retained possession of the ball after a South Carolina corner kick, shook off a defender and turned towards the end-line. She took a dribble before delivering a cross towards the near side of the goal, where the ball found Behm. Once she received the ball, Behm looped a close-range shot over Anderson and another Mississippi State defender. When the ball hit the back corner of the net, the Gamecocks were officially up two goals.

The Bulldogs did not go away quietly in the second half, despite the deficit. Montoya-Martinez launched another dangerous shot towards goal in the 79th minute, only to be denied by the crossbar.

Momentum would quickly flip back into South Carolina’s direction, though, after a flurry of shots led to Barry being pulled down in the box by a Mississippi State defender. Barry, who has already scored two penalty kick goals in this year’s tournament, dispatched her third with ease.

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The score all but confirmed the Gamecocks’ victory and advancement to the next round. But the match ended on a sour note after Bulldogs midfielder Kara Harris was carried off the field on a stretcher. Harris had collided with a South Carolina player before doing down with what appeared to be a lower-body injury.

While Behm’s and Barry’s goals ultimately helped win the game, the Gamecocks also a had a strong performance on defense. Despite facing 11 shots from the Bulldogs, South Carolina’s defense held firm over the course of 90 minutes. The victory marked the Gamecocks’ fifth shutout of the 2024 season.

What’s next?

With the win, South Carolina will advance to the SEC Tournament final, where it will look to win its fourth-ever conference championship. The Gamecock will take on either No. 2 seed Arkansas or No. 3 seed Texas.

South Carolina has not played Texas, which has a 14-3-2 (wins-losses-draws) overall record and 6-3-1 mark, this year. But the Gamecocks have previously played the Razorbacks (14-1-2, 8-1-1 SEC). South Carolina faced off against Arkansas in a road matchup on Sept. 29, but the Razorbacks prevailed 2-0.

The 2024 SEC Tournament Championship will kick off at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The match will air on the SEC Network.

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