Soccer 
Courtesy: Julianne Upchurch
PDF: The fifth-seeded Bulldogs are set to take on the fourth-seeded South Carolina Gamecocks (15-3-1, 7-3-1) in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 8:30 p.m. at the Orange Beach Sportsplex in Orange Beach, Ala. It will be the second straight year in which these two teams have met in the tournament's opening round, with Georgia coming away with the 2-1 win in the quarterfinals in 2008.
"We know we will have our hands full tomorrow night against nationally ranked South Carolina," said head coach Patrick Baker. "It seems like we face South Carolina every time we are here and this year might be their best team ever. We were fortunate to come back against them earlier this season and we will have to perform much better tomorrow night to have a chance of advancing. The team is healthy, fit and excited to get the tournament underway."
Earlier this season, the Bulldogs gave South Carolina its first loss of the season back on Oct. 16, a 2-1 win for the Bulldogs in Athens. Senior Carrie Patterson scored both goals in that game.
"South Carolina is a very good team," Patterson said. "I don't think we played as well as we could have against them earlier in the season. We came back against them in the second half to put them away. It's hard to beat a good team twice, and we'll have to play a full 90 minutes to come away with a win."
Georgia is 9-11-1 all-time in the conference tournament, including 4-4-0 since 2005 under head coach Patrick Baker. After finishing the 2009 SEC regular-season slate with a record of 7-4-0, the Bulldogs secured their third straight winning season in conference for the first time in program history.
FOLLOW THE ACTION: For the first time in SEC history, all matches of the championship will be available to fans live via television and streaming on the web at SECsports.com. All games leading up to the finals will stream online and are available to the public for free. The championship game, set for Sunday, Nov. 8 at 3 p.m. EST will be carried on ESPNU. Additionally, the finals will be covered on XM Radio 199 and with the Best of XM package on Sirius 213. In addition to the SEC's coverage, GXtra's own Kevin Copp will be in Orange Beach providing live audio play-by-play of all of Georgia's games, as well as conducting exclusive interviews. All content will be available FREE here on Georgiadogs.com.
SEC HONORS: Georgia senior Carrie Patterson and freshmen Laura Eddy and Susannah Dennis earned 2009 All-SEC honors as voted on by the league coaches. Patterson was named first team All-SEC while Eddy was named to the second team, the freshman team and SEC Freshman of the Year. Dennis was also named freshman All-SEC. Patterson, a native of Atlanta, owns the Georgia career record for goals (42) and points (107) and is tied for the lead with 23 assists. She leads the team with nine goals, five assists and 23 points. Patterson becomes just the fourth player to earn first team All-SEC honors four times. Jennifer Burchett of Vanderbilt was the first from 1993-96, Kim LaBelle of Kentucky was the second from 1994-97, and Florida's Abby Wambach was the third from 1998-2001. Patterson is also the 29th UGA student-athlete in all sports to earn four first team All-SEC honors. Eddy, an Atlanta native, is the third Bulldog in the last four years to be named SEC Freshman of the Year; Patterson earned the honor in 2006 and Kelli Corless earned the honor in 2007. She has started all 18 of Georgia's games as a defender, and helped the Bulldogs post seven shutouts. Eddy also scored the game-winning goal in the 2-1 win over Mississippi State. She was the only freshman in the league to be named to the first or second All-SEC teams. Eddy was a unanimous selection to the All-Freshman team. Dennis, a native of Franklin, Tenn., has played in 16 games with 10 starts as a midfielder for the Bulldogs. She had the game-winning goal in the 3-2 win at Charlotte. All 10 of Dennis' starts have come in conference games after missing action the first part of the season with an injury. Georgia now has had four straight years of at least two players on the All-Freshman team. No other team in the league has had multiple players on the list for three straight years.
LAST TIME OUT: The Bulldogs got on the board first in the 60th minute and then responded with the game-winning goal less than a minute after Tennessee tied it to down the Lady Vols last Friday night by a score of 2-1 at the UGA Soccer Stadium to close out the 2009 regular-season slate. Caroline Simpson and Alex Hooker scored for Georgia, while Carrie Patterson's assist on Simpson's goal tied her for the school record in assists with 23 and also ties her for ninth all-time in the SEC in that category. The Bulldogs outshot Tennessee by a count of 17-16 and had six corners to UT's five, while Patterson and Jamie Pollock each had three shots to lead the way. The Bulldog defense was able to limit Tennessee's -- and the SEC's -- leading scorer Mick Imgram to just one shot all night. The shutout was keeper Michelle Betos' seventh of the season and Georgia's ninth overall. Georgia is now 7-10-1 all-time against Tennessee and has won the last three regular-season meetings between the teams. The Bulldogs are 7-8 all-time in regular-season finales, including a 3-2 mark under Baker.
SENIOR NIGHT: The Bulldogs honored their eight seniors in a pregame ceremony Friday night, before calling seven of their names to the starting lineup. The nod to senior Mary Ricker was the first of her career. This Georgia senior class has posted a record of 53-28-4 in their four years in UGA uniforms, the second-winningest class in program history behind the Class of 1999. The 1999 seniors were 55-25-5.
SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS: Georgia will take on a South Carolina team that was undefeated until its Oct. 16 meeting with the Dogs, but has since gone 2-2 including losses in its last two games against No. 14 LSU (1-0) and No. 10 Florida (3-0) to close the regular season. The Gamecocks are led by Kayla Grimsley's 10 goals and five assists for 25 points, while Kim Miller has two goals and 10 assists for 14 points. Both Grimsley's goals and Miller's assist tallies are good for second in the SEC in their respective categories. USC has three other players with at least 10 points on the year. Starting goalie Mollie Patton has logged just over 1,700 minutes this season and leads the conference in shutouts (12), goals-against average (0.47), and save percentage (.862). The Gamecocks as a team have allowed the fewest goals in the league (10) for an average of just 0.52 per contest, and are outscoring the opposition 38-10.
A LOOK AT THE BULLDOGS: Georgia is led by senior forward Carrie Patterson, who has a team-best nine goals on the season after two vs. South Carolina and one vs. Alabama, while she is adding five assists. The two-goal effort vs. USC marked Patterson's ninth career multi-goal game (the most in program history), while her assist vs. Tennessee tied the school record in that category as she now has 23 for her career. The Atlanta native leads the team with five game-winners and is 3-for-3 on PKs this season. Jamie Pollock boasts 13 points (6g, 1a), while Ashley Miller also has 13 (4g, 5a). Alex Hooker has five goals and one assist for 11 points, while seven other Georgia players have scored at least once in what has been a balance season offensively for Georgia, which is outscoring its opponents by a 36-17 margin. Veteran goalkeeper Michelle Betos has logged 1,700 minutes this season, posting a 0.92 gaa and a .817 save percentage while stopping 76 shots in goal. Betos has seven shutouts to her name. The Dogs average 1.89 goals per game, are leading opponents in corners, 120-55, and have nearly doubled opponents' in the shot column (16.2-8.4).
NOTING THE BULLDOGS: Georgia's win vs. Mississippi State on Oct. 11 was the 175th in program history ... All three of UGA's goals vs. Alabama Oct. 22 came in a span of 4 minutes, 25 seconds in the first half. ... Georgia has now scored three or more goals in a game seven times this season. ... By allowing just one shot to Alabama, UGA has allowed five or fewer shots to an opponent on eight occasions this season, including zero allowed to FAU on Sept. 4. ... The Auburn game was only the second road loss of the year for the Bulldogs ... Georgia's shutouts vs. Arkansas, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt (Sept. 27-Oct. 4) marked the first time in program history the team has posted back-to-back-to-back shutouts in SEC contests. ... The 3-0 win over Vanderbilt on Oct. 4 clinched the Bulldogs' fifth straight year with double-digit wins, matching the five consecutive seasons from 1995-99 with at least 10 victories. In the five years before head coach Patrick Baker arrived in 2005, the Bulldogs had double-digit wins in three seasons. ... Georgia is the only team in the SEC without playing an overtime game yet this season. ... In their nine games decided by one goal this season, Georgia is 7-2. ... The Bulldogs continue to lead the SEC in corner kicks, taking 120 on the season.
BULLDOG MILESTONES: Two Georgia players reached milestones recently. First, senior forward Carrie Patterson's two goals against South Carolina gave her a total of nine multi-goal games for her career, a new Georgia record as she surpassed Mandy Aiken's eight. Patterson is the all-time leading scorer in UGA history with 42 career goals and 106 career points, and also tied the Georgia assists record with a helper vs. Tennessee to stand with 23 for her career. Patterson is only one off the program record for game-winning goals, now with 14 after the Alabama game. Stephanie Yarem's 15 game-winning goals is the current record at UGA. Senior goalkeeper Michelle Betos' three saves vs. Florida Oct. 18 moved her into 10th all-time in the SEC in saves. Betos is only 4.5 career shutouts off the record at UGA, held by Nicole Williams, as Betos has 25 for her career. Betos is also only one off Williams' record for career wins in a Bulldog uniform, owning 48 to date.
SEC RECORDS WATCH: Carrie Patterson currently ranks first among active players in the SEC in points (107) and is tied for ninth all-time in that category in an always-competitive soccer conference. Her 42 career goals ranks first among active players as well and is just one off moving her into a 10th place tie all-time. With 23 career assists, Patterson is third among active players there. Keeper Michelle Betos, with a 1.00 goals-against average for her career, is tied for third place among active players in that category in the SEC, while her 307 career saves is second among active players and also good for ninth all-time in the conference. Betos' 25 shutouts ranks first among active players and sits her tied for fourth all-time in the SEC in that category.
ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT: Georgia senior midfielder Lindsay Stein was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District soccer team, it was announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Oct. 30. She was a named to the third team for district three. Each district team features 11 student-athletes, and those listed on the first teams advance to the Academic All-America ballot. Stein is a Dean's List and Presidential Scholar, boasting an overall GPA of 3.91 with a major in biological science.
BAKER TIES RECORD: With a 14-4-1 record so far this season, UGA head coach Patrick Baker is now 65-34-6 in his fifth season at the helm, tying him with Bill Barker as the winningest coach in program history. Barker went 65-30-8 in five seasons from 1995-99, leaving Baker just one win away from setting the new Georgia record.
GEORGIA IN THE RPI: The Georgia soccer team was ranked No. 18 in the latest NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) report, good for third in the SEC behind Florida (No. 9) and South Carolina (No. 17). The Bulldogs had jumped from No. 12 to No. 9 in the report released Oct. 19. Stanford is No. 1 followed by North Carolina, Portland, Florida State, UCLA, Notre Dame, Boston College, Central Florida, Florida and Penn State to round out the top-10. The Bulldogs have eight other wins against teams in the RPI top-100 including No. 47 Vanderbilt, No. 57 Tennessee, No. 84 Arkansas, No. 93 Mississippi State, and non-conference opponents No. 42 Minnesota, No. 50 Northeastern, and No. 53 Charlotte. The SEC has five teams in the RPI top 25, and the Bulldogs' only losses have come against No. 9 Florida, No. 22 LSU, No. 33 Auburn, and No. 24 Ole Miss. The RPI is the most important criteria used by the NCAA to determine the 64-team field for the NCAA Tournament that compares results and strength of schedule.
ANOTHER TOP 10 PROGRAM FOR BAKER: Georgia head coach Patrick Baker spent six seasons as head coach at Florida State, where he turned around a struggling program and took the Seminoles to a top-10 national ranking and the program's first appearance in the College Cup. He won 80 games at FSU, and has now turned around a struggling program in Athens since arriving in 2005. After three impressive wins over 2008 NCAA Tournament teams Minnesota, Northeastern, and Charlotte in which the Bulldogs outscored those three teams 6-2, Georgia achieved the program's first ever top-10 ranking Sept. 15 and maintained that spot in the poll released Sept. 22 for the first ever back-to-back top-10 ranking.
THREE IN A ROW?: Georgia will try to set school history by advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year. The Bulldogs went to two straight NCAA Tournaments in 1997 and 1998, then again in 2007 and 2008. The other two trips came in 2001 and 2003. The 1998 team advanced to the third round - Georgia's best run in the NCAA Tournament.
