BYU faces top seed South Carolina in third round

COLUMBIA, S.C. — BYU makes a quick turnaround to play top seed and host South Carolina in the third round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday at 7 p.m. EST at Stone Stadium.

BYU Storylines

The Cougars (18-2-1) advanced past UNLV in the first round and Oklahoma in the second round of the NCAA tournament to get to Saturday's game. The 2-1 win against the Sooners came Thursday, via goals from seniors Ashley Hatch and Michele Vasconcelos. That game was also played at Stone Stadium.

BYU outscored its last five regular season opponents 19-1, and has outscored tournament opponents 4-1. The WCC Player of the Year, Vasconcelos has scored a goal in seven straight games, going back to Oct. 15.

South Carolina Storylines

The Gamecocks (20-1-1) lost just one game during the regular season to garner one of the four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament. They advanced past Alabama State in the first round and Colorado in the second round.

Junior forward Savannah McCaskill led South Carolina with 17 goals and 11 assists this year.

The Cougars and Gamecocks finished in a near dead heat in the NSCAA coaches poll, with BYU ranked No. 4 with 659 points, and South Carolina ranked No. 3 with 662 points. The two teams were also No. 1 (USC) and No. 2 (BYU) in the nation in terms of home attendance in the regular season.

Game Information

• Saturday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. EST at Stone Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina
• Radio: The Cougar IMG Network, ESPN 960 AM and BYU Radio (XM 143)
• Radio Talent: Robbie Bullough (play-by-play) and Colette Smith (analyst)
• Video Stream: Watch ESPN app or ESPN 3

Series Information

This is the first meeting between the Cougars and Gamecocks.