The No. 6 University of Florida soccer team (10-1-2, 4-0-1 SEC) and Alabama (8-2-2, 3-0-2 SEC) played to a 1-1 double overtime tie Friday in front of an Alabama Soccer Complex crowd of 754. It was the second tie in the 16 all-time meetings between the two programs.
| Friday’s SEC Scores | |||
| Away | Score | Home | Score |
| No. 15 South Carolina | 3 | Auburn | 1 |
| Kentucky | 0 | LSU | 1 OT2 |
| Vanderbilt | 2 | Arkansas | 1 OT |
| No. 18 Georgia | 0 | Mississippi | 0 OT2 |
| Tennessee | 1 | Mississippi State | 0 OT2 |
After a scoreless opening half, Florida took a 1-0 lead early in the second half. Erika Tymrak took a hard shot in the box which deflected off an Alabama defender. The ball fell to the right of the box where Taylor Travis collected the ball. She touched the ball to Tahnai Annis who was making her run through the center of the box. Annis touched it in from four yards at 46:27 for her eighth goal of the year.
“It was a build up from the back. We kept the ball moving all the way up the field and through the flanks. We kept pushing at them and kept pressing on,” Annis said. “Taylor had the ball in the box. There were a lot of chances when someone could have shot it, but we were very patient. I made sure to put myself in front of the goal and I was asking for the ball. Taylor found me so I just needed to run through it with my momentum and not try anything fancy and it went in.
The Tide scored in final minute to tie and send the match to overtime for only the second time in the 16 all-time meetings. Senior Brooke Rogers scored from short range off the ball from Victoria Frederick which was set up by a Tide corner kick.
The Gators did have their chances in the overtime period, recording seven shots. Tymrak’s 12-yard shot in the 96th minute was stopped by UA’s Justine Bernier at the near post. In the 97th minute, Ashlee Elliott brought the ball deep into Tide half. The ball she served into the box found the head of Holly King, but again Bernier made the stop at the post.
In the 107th minute, Annis took a shot which was deflected in the box. The shot had both benches calling for a whistle – UF asking for a hand ball while the Tide saw it as offsides. With just under two minutes remaining, McKenzie Barney took a 10 yard shot which just skimmed over the crossbar.
UF Head Coach Becky Bureligh said the Gators showed some frustration after the Tide tied late in regulation.
“It was a pretty physical match and we had plenty of chances. You have to credit the Alabama defense for keeping us out of the back of the net more than once. It was frustrating to give up the late goal,” Burleigh said. “When something like that happens, it is a done deal. There is nothing that can be done about it. I thought we were a little frustrated going into the overtime because we didn’t quite put it behind us. We need to learn from this.”
Next up, Florida travels southeast to meet Auburn (8-5, 2-3 SEC). Auburn lost 3-1 to No. 15 South Carolina Friday. The Gators meet the Tigers on Sunday, Oct. 10 in a match which airs live on ESPNU (Gainesville/Ocala Cox Cable channel 251) beginning at 3 p.m. (ET).
| Scoring Summary: | 1st | 2nd | OT | OT2 | Final |
| Florida | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Alabama | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Scoring: | |||||||
| UF: Tahnai Annis (Taylor Travis) 46:27 | |||||||
| UA: Brooke Rogers (Victoria Frederick) 89:03 | |||||||
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| Goalkeepers: | |||||||
| | | Minutes | Saves | GA | |||
| Florida | Katie Fraine | 110:00 | 1 | 1 | |||
| UA | Justine Bernier | 110:00 | 10 | 1 | |||
| | | | | | |||
| Statistical Summary: | UF | UA | |||||
| Shots | 23 | 8 | |||||
| Shots on goal | 11 | 2 | |||||
| Saves | 1 | 10 | |||||
| Corner Kicks | 4 | 4 | |||||
| Fouls | 11 | 14 | |||||
| Offside | 2 | 1 | |||||
Cautions: UF-Annis (yellow/19:46), UA-Kendall Khanna (yellow/44:36), UA-Rosaly Petriello (yellow/56:13), UA-Ariel Armijo (yellow/97:19)
