SEC Tournament Title on the Line When No. 7 Florida Soccer Faces No.
20 South Carolina
11/7/10
ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – The No. 7
Florida (17-2-2, 9-1-1 SEC) and No. 20 South Carolina (14-4-4, 8-2-1
SEC) soccer teams meet for the second time in the span of just over a
week with another Southeastern Conference championship on the line. The
top two seeded teams meet Sunday in the SEC Tournament Championship
match, which airs live on ESPNU (Gainesville/Ocala Cox Cable channel
251) at 3 p.m. ET. Florida enters the match as the SEC Tournament’s No.
1 seed and South Carolina is the No. 2 seed. The league’s automatic
berth to the 2010 NCAA Championship goes to the winner of the SEC
Tournament.
Florida claimed its 11th SEC title and fifth
consecutive with its 1-0 win at then No. 17 South Carolina on Oct. 29.
The regular-season finale featured the league’s top two teams who each
brought identical SEC records into the match. The Gators were awarded a
free kick just above the box with 10 seconds remaining in the opening
half. The referee stopped the clock to allow the teams to set for the
play. Senior Nicky Kit’s 20-yard shot hit the near post and kicked in
for the only score of the match. It was her second goal of the season,
fourth of her career and her first game-winner.
Kit’s
game-winning goal earned her the CollegeSoccer360.com Primetime
Performer of the Week honor. She also was named the SEC Defensive Player
of the Week. More honors were announced by the league office on Nov. 2.
Sophomore Kathryn Williamson is the SEC Defender of the Year and Taylor
Travis is the SEC Freshman of the Year. Coach of the Year went to Becky
Burleigh. Florida led all programs with five appearing on 2010 All-SEC
teams – Tahnai Annis (second team), Ashlee Elliott (first), Erika Tymrak
(first), Travis (second) and Williamson (first). Travis also appears on
the SEC All-Freshman team.
Although Florida leads all league
teams with eight SEC Tournament titles, only the 2007 title came at the
Orange Beach SportsPlex. Six of the last seven SEC Tournaments have been
held in Orange Beach, Ala. The Gators advanced to the tournament final
three previous times in Orange Beach, with Tennessee taking a penalty
kick decision after the two teams tied 1-1 20T in the 2003 final and the
Gators lost 2-1 to Kentucky in the 2006 final. The third time proved to
be the charm, as UF won the
2007 SEC Tournament title with a 4-1 win
over Georgia. This will be UF’s first SEC Tournament finale appearance
since its 2007 win, as the Gators’
tournament run ended in the
semifinal round in 2008 (3-0 loss to
Georgia) and 2009 (1-0 loss to
South Carolina). Florida has advanced to the SEC Tournament final 12 of
its 16 SEC Tournament appearances.
South Carolina finished
second in the final SEC standings with its 8-2-1 record. The Gamecocks
advanced to the SEC Tournament final after two consecutive 3-2 penalty
kick decisions after tying Kentucky (first
round) and LSU (semifinal)
1-1 2OT in regulation. The last three SEC Tournament appearances for USC
have gone to penalty kicks, as the Gamecocks claimed its first SEC
Tournament title in 2009 with a 8-7 penalty kick advantage after tying
LSU 1-1 2OT in the final. The Gamecocks are led by 2010 SEC Offensive
Player of the Year Kayla Grimsley. She enters Sunday’s final leading the
SEC in points (34) and she shares first in goals (12) with Florida’s
McKenzie Barney and Tahnai Annis. She was joined on the All-SEC first
team by senior defender Brittiny Rhoads and junior defender Ellen Fahey
earned All-SEC second team honors. USC senior goalkeeper Mollie Patton
leads the SEC with her goals-against-average of 0.62.
Sunday’s
championship match can be heard live on WRUF SportsRadio 850 or via
simulcast on Gainesville/Ocala Cox Cable channel 946 with Adam Schick
covering the action. The match can also be heard live on
www.GatorZone.com..
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