No. 23 Florida Meets Auburn Sunday in Southeastern Conference Soccer Tournament Final
Saturday, November 5, 2011 | Soccer
The No. 23 Florida soccer team (16-6, 7-4 SEC) looks to defend its Southeastern Conference Tournament title Sunday when it meets Auburn (13-6-2, 5-5-1 SEC) at the Orange Beach SportsPlex. Match time is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and the match airs live on ESPNU (Gainesville/Ocala Cox cable channel 251) with Tony DiCicco and Sam Gore calling the action.
| Sunday's Match Info: |
| No. 4 seed Florida (16-6-0, 7-4-0 SEC) vs. No. 7 seed Auburn (13-6-2, 5-5-1 SEC) Date & Time: Nov. 6, 2011 @ 3:30 p.m. ET The Coaches: Becky Burleigh, 17th season @ UF (380-101-32/22nd season overall – 298-78-26/UF), Karen Hoppa – 213-143-32/19th season overall & 149-99-23/13th season at AU Television: live on ESPNU (Gainesville/Ocala Cox Cable 251) with Tony DiCicco and Sam Gore calling the action Radio: live on WRUF SportsRadio 850 Video: live on ESPN3 Internet: live stats and audio for UF-AU match available on www.GatorZone.com Single Day Tickets: $5 adult; $2 children 12 and under. Contact the Orange Beach Parks and Recreation Department at (251) 981-6039 for further information. |
The Gators needed to come from behind twice when they met then No. 22 Auburn on Oct. 7 at the James G. Pressly Stadium, taking a 3-2 overtime win. Junior Erika Tymrak played a part in every Gator goal of the match, scoring twice in regulation and sending the final pass which led to McKenzie Barney's golden goal in the 97th minute. Tymrak tied the match in the 49th minute (eight yard shot) and again in the 58th minute (18 yard shot). She and Holly King combined to assist Barney on her second career golden goal.
This edition of the 2011 SEC Tournament has produced some upsets and No. 7 seed Auburn will be looking for its third of the week on Sunday. For the first time in SEC Tournament history, the top two seeds – No. 1 South Carolina and No. 2 LSU – were eliminated in first-round action. LSU dropped a 3-0 decision to Auburn in the tournament's opening match and South Carolina lost to Alabama 1-0. In SEC semifinal action, Auburn defeated No. 3 seed Tennessee 2-0.
All of Florida's scoring of the 2011 SEC Tournament has come from its upperclassmen. In Wednesday's opening round, senior Tahnai Annis scored both goals in the first half in the 2-0 win over Georgia. The first started when goalkeeper Taylor Burke sent a ball to just above the Bulldog box. Senior Lindsay Thompson flicked the ball and Annis ran onto to it, fighting through a pair of Bulldog defenders to place the scoring touch. The first corner kick awarded to the Gators resulted in the lead being pushed to 2-0 just seconds before halftime. King headed the ball forward off the corner kick, but it was Annis who got a foot on the loose ball to score her second goal.
In Friday's 2-1 semifinal win versus Alabama, the Tide scored first, but that lead lasted less than a minute. After the Tide scored off a corner kick, Tymrak tied the match 40 second later at 32:47 when she scored from eight-yards off the ball from Caroline Triglia. Thompson gave the Gators the final margin when she tapped in the through ball from Tymrak in the 81st minute.
| Orange Beach Soccer Complex * Orange Beach, Ala. Nov. 2 – Opening Round Match 1 @ 1 p.m. (ET) – Auburn 3, LSU 0 Match 2 @ 3:30 p.m. (ET) – Tennessee 2, Kentucky 1 Match 3 @ 6:00 p.m. (ET) – Alabama 1, South Carolina 0 Match 4 @ 8:30 p.m. (ET) – Florida 2, Georgia 0 Nov. 4 – Semifinal Match 5 @ 6:00 p.m. (ET) –Auburn 2, Tennessee 0 Match 6 @ 8:30 p.m. (ET) – Florida 2, Alabama 1 Nov. 6 – Final Match 7 @ 3:30 p.m. (ET) – Florida vs. Auburn |
Auburn took seventh in the final SEC standings with its 5-5-1 record and has appeared among the nation's top 25 at points of the 2011 campaign. The Tigers posted an impressive 4-0 win over current No. 3 Duke on Sept. 2. Senior Katy Frierson, who joined Florida's Erika Tymrak on the U.S. Under-23 National Team for three matches in Sweden in June, leads the Tigers with 24 points off of six goals and a league-leading 12 assists. This is Auburn's fourth appearance in the SEC Tournament final and the Tigers will be looking for their first title.
Although Florida leads all league teams with nine SEC Tournament titles, only the 2007 and 2010 titles came at the Orange Beach SportsPlex. Seven of the last eight SEC Tournaments have been held in Orange Beach, Ala. The Gators have now advanced to the tournament final five times in Orange Beach. The last two appearances in the final have resulted in the Gators hoisting the trophy, taking the 2007 (4-1 versus Georgia) and 2010 (1-0 versus South Carolina) SEC Tournament titles. Florida has advanced to the SEC Tournament final 13 of its 17 SEC Tournament appearances.
Florida placed four on 2011 All-Southeastern Conference teams, the league office announced on Monday. A pair of Gator juniors are repeat selections for the 11-member All-SEC first team – midfielder Erika Tymrak and defender Kathryn Williamson. Senior outside back Jazmyne Avant and junior midfielder Holly King are All-SEC second team selections. Florida also placed a pair of midfielders on the 13-member SEC All-Freshman team –Havana Solaun and Annie Speese.
Sunday's match can also be heard on WRUF SportsRadio 850, by simulcast on Cox Channel 946 (Gainesville/Ocala) or on www.GatorZone.com with Adam Schick calling the action.
