The Florida soccer team tied Auburn 1-1 after 135 minutes of play before losing 5-4 in penalty kicks Thursday afternoon in the first round of the Southeastern
Conference Soccer Tournament at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
In the sixth round of penalty kicks, Auburn sophomore forward Trudi James clinched the win for the Tigers, as she sent a shot into the upper right corner past a diving
Lynn Pattishall. After a 4-4 deadlock at the end of regulation penalty kicks, Florida sweeper
Adrianne Moreira missed her attempt wide right, allowing Auburn to move ahead for the victory.
Freshman defender
Kelly Maher opened the scoring 19 minutes into the match for Florida when she recorded her first goal of the season. After an Auburn defender cleared a UF corner kick, Maher skipped a 30-yard shot across the wet grass and into the net past Lady Tiger goalkeeper Meredith McPherson.
Florida held its 1-0 lead until 72:31 when James, a native of Margate, Fla., scored on a 12-yard shot off a breakaway pass from Tiffany Smith.
The Gators' best opportunity to win the match came with 23 seconds remaining in sudden death overtime. Midfielder
Sarah Currie sent a free kick from the edge of the penalty box into
Sabrina Thompson, who headed the cross into the net past the Auburn goalkeeper. The linesman on the right side of the field, however, signaled offsides, and the goal was nullified by the referee.
After 90 minutes of regulation, 30 minutes of overtime and 15 minutes of sudden death overtime in rain-drenched conditions, officials opted not to play a second sudden-death overtime period due to darkness. Instead, both teams moved directly into the penalty kick round.
Â
Â
