For USC soccer star, 3 sports are better than 1, especially with clash vs. Aliyah Boston
Before Gamecocks soccer star Catherine Barry hit the pitch in Columbia, she faced Aliyah Boston on the basketball court in New England.
The 6-foot soccer forward and the 6-foot-5 basketball forward played on rival teams in Massachusetts — Barry at Tabor Academy, and Boston at Worcester Academy. Both squads clashed in the 2018-19 New England Preparatory School Athletic Council championship game, where Boston led her team to a 70-59 victory and its second straight state title.
Despite being on the receiving end of Boston’s heroics, that game is one of Barry’s favorite basketball stories to tell.
“Insane, right?” Barry said.
In addition to playing varsity soccer all four years of high school, Barry lettered for two years in basketball and three years in lacrosse. Each athletic endeavor had an impact on the others. Oftentimes growing up, Barry was the best soccer player on the field. Basketball and lacrosse humbled her and helped shape her success in soccer, Barry said.
Barry is a senior captain on this years South Carolina women’s soccer team, which kicks off its 2023 season with an exhibition game against Duke on Thursday. The Gamecocks look to build on last year’s success, which saw them win the SEC Tournament and reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Soccer comes naturally to Barry. In high school she was twice named Massachusetts Girls Gatorade Player of the Year (2018-19, 2019-20) and has led South Carolina in goals, points, shots and shots on goal all three years of her collegiate career. Her experience in other sports taught her the merits of doing “the dirty work.” Going in defensively, learning to break down film and increasing her fitness level to make up for lapses in skillset all became priorities for her.
In watching tape, namely basketball, Barry began to think critically about how she could translate certain aspects of soccer to the hardwood.
“There were things in basketball that I was good at, and people would be like, ‘I don’t understand,’ ” Barry said. “It’s just like pressing in soccer as a center forward. I’m reading that pass, and I’m jumping this gap. So playing zone defense in basketball, to me, it just came like second nature.”
Rebounding reminded her of tracking headers. Playing in the post reminded her of backing down defenders as a nine. The schematics of each sport she played were built off triangles, so tasks like ball movement and hunting for open spaces seemed easier to grasp.
In an alternate life, Barry might have pursued basketball and lacrosse further than high school.
“Maybe if I was not at a school where they were so phenomenal I would’ve loved to have played basketball,” Barry said. “It’s such a special sport to me as well. If we had a lacrosse team, too — I wish we had that. But I really love playing, watching all those sports.”
She still enjoys shooting hoops from time to time, but is cautious, of course, of staying healthy for soccer season. Hailing from Boston, which has no WNBA franchise, Barry has adopted A’ja Wilson’s Las Vegas Aces as her team of choice.
Barry also cheers for former-rival-turned-fellow-Gamecock Boston in Indiana.
Players to watch in 2023
Brinley Murphy
Freshman Brinley Murphy has already “made a name for herself” in the club soccer world, coach Shelley Smith said. This season the 2022-23 USA Today High School Sports Awards Girls Soccer Player of the Year and 2022-23 Gatorade Tennessee Girls Soccer Player of the Year now looks to do the same at the collegiate level.
Shae O’Rourke-Catherine Barry tandem
Smith foresees having Barry and sophomore Shae O’Rourke on the field at the same time “as much as possible” this season.
“They are our most dangerous players, and we want them to be out there together,” Smith said.
Barry is one of three senior captains this year. She has led the Gamecocks in goals, points, shots and shots on goal in each of the three seasons she’s been in Columbia.
O’Rourke earned SEC All-Freshman Team honors last season. She played in all 24 of South Carolina’s games (logging 896 minutes during the regular and post seasons) and led the team in shots on goal percentage (21-29, .724). O’Rourke tied for second for most goals on the team (6), second for points (15), second for shots (29), third for assists (3).
Heather Hinz
Goalkeeper Heather Hinz will play a big role for the Gamecocks again this season. She started all 24 games in goal last year. She ranked first in the country and the SEC with 13 shutouts on the season. Now a fifth-year senior, Hinz brings a wealth of experience to this year’s South Carolina squad.
“I think our goalkeeper Heather is is grown every year and to be more vocal leader,” Smith said, “and more calming presence in the goal and given our back line a lot of a lot of confidence. And so as a fifth year senior, I expect her to also be a leader. We ask that our goalkeepers, and she’s capable of doing that.”
South Carolina 2023 schedule
Games not televised are typically streamed through SEC Network Plus
Aug. 10 vs. Duke (exh), 5 pm
Aug. 17 at Clemson, 7 pm
Aug. 20 vs. Jacksonville, 1 pm
Aug. 24 at Boston College, 7 pm
Aug. 27 at UMass-Lowell, 1 pm
Aug. 31 vs. Elon, 7 pm
Sept. 3 vs. Coastal Carolina, 6 pm
Sept. 7 vs. UNC, 7 pm (ESPNU)
Sept. 10 vs. Furman, 6 pm
Sept. 15 vs. Vanderbilt, 7 pm
Sept. 21 at Kentucky, 7:30 pm
Sept. 24 vs. Tennessee, 7 pm (ESPNU)
Sept. 29 at Auburn, 7:30 pm
Oct. 5 vs. LSU, 7 pm
Oct. 8 at Missouri, 4 pm
Oct. 13 vs. Ole Miss, 7 pm
Oct. 19 at Texas A&M, 8 pm
Oct. 22 vs. Georgia 2 pm
Oct. 26 at Florida, 6 pm
This story was originally published August 8, 2023 at 1:50 PM with the headline "For USC soccer star, 3 sports are better than 1, especially with clash vs. Aliyah Boston."
