Wake would score the game winner as time expired on a header by senior Bess Harrington. Fellow senior Jill Hutchinson is credit with the assist. Hutchinson, a Wayne, Pa native ran over to take the corner with just ten seconds left and she put the ball and as used all of her strength as she has been battling a groin injury. Harrington knew there was little time left and got herself in the correct position to try and get a header on the ball.
"I saw Jill running over to take the corner and I can hear the crowd winding down. I was just there and nobody was marking me. She just put it in the perfect place and as soon as I saw it coming to me, I told myself it is going in, it is going in," Harrington said.
The first half of play was dominated by the Demon Deacons has they had the only two scoring opportunities. In the 36th minute, Wake had a great beat Patton with the shot but it glanced off the crossbar. Five minutes later Wake had another golden opportunity as Patton took a bad angle to the ball and was beat by senior Blakely Mattern gave back to make a sliding save and knock the ball out for a corner.
The Gamecocks gave firing out of the gates to start the second half. Brooke Jacobs had the first scoring chance for the Gamecocks just 30 seconds into the half as she dribbled the ball down to the endline and launches a cross that is saved by the keeper. Jacobs would get the best chance for Carolina all night as she had two chances in close against Wake Forest keeper Amanda Barasha. The second of these shots actually beat the keeper but the post was unkind tonight as it glanced off and bounced harmless away.
Carolina was handed their first defeat of the year at the Graveyard but Smith knows her girls played hard and knows that they played their best. Smith wanted to let her players know that they played their best tonight and to leave their heads held high
"As long as we leave the field tonight with our head up because we gave it everything we had. That's what we wanted tout of tonight. They need to be proud of that," Smith said. She went on to add that we had chance after chance but it was a battle and that is what you expect at this level of competition.
The crowd tonight was electric as it has been all year for the Gamecocks. The standing room only crowd was getting into as time expires and Wake coach Tony da Luz knew that he wanted this game to end in regulation due to the great crowd on hand.
"I didn’t want to go into overtime, especially way the crowd was starting to get into it," Da Luz said.
USC's season has come to an end but for senior Blakely Mattern this team has come a long way in just four years.
"We have come a long way. My freshmen year we sat we watch the NCAA selection show and we were not select and walking out there was very disappointing. And this year, we had a a selection show party at a restaurant and we are hosting NCAA third round in front of 4000 people," Mattern said.
Carolina ends their season with a school record 19 wins and advanced to the sweet 16 for the first time in school history.
