ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – The Florida soccer team advances to the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinal round after taking a penalty kick decision over Missouri on Wednesday evening at the Orange Beach Sportsplex.
 
Wednesday's match saw the lead move between Florida and Missouri, with the match ending at a 3-3 double overtime tie. Penalty kicks are used in postseason play to determine an advancing team. Florida took an 8-7 advantage in penalty kicks to move ahead to Friday's semifinal.
 
This was the second meeting between Florida and Missouri in a span of a week. When the two teams met in Columbia, Mo., last Thursday, Florida took a 1-0 win. This is the second time in the program's 22 SEC Tournament appearances that Florida opened the tournament versus the same opponent it concluded league regular-season play against.
 
Florida now advances to face No. 2 South Carolina in Friday's semifinal round, set for Friday, Nov. 4 at 4:30 p.m. ET. That match airs live on the SEC Network.
 
How the Goals Were Scored:

The Gators experienced many different scenarios Wednesday – playing behind, tying the match, taking the lead and then ending in a tie that needed to be settled by penalty kicks.
 
The Tigers hit the earliest goal of the season against the Gators at the 2:07 mark. The play started when Allie Hess sent a ball through the center of the box, finding Jessica Johnson making an angled run through the box. She placed the ball in from 12 yards to put the Tigers up early.
 
Florida scored twice within a 10-minute span to tie and then take the halftime lead. The first goal started with a build-up that started in the Florida half. Mayra Pelayo sent the ball ahead to Sarah Troccoli above the box. Just before being toppled by a Tiger defender, Troccoli touched the ball ahead Melanie Monteagudo making a run through the middle of the box. Monteagudo took a touch and scored with a right-footed shot from 10 yards.
 
A corner kick set up Florida's second goal. Gabby Seiler sent in the ball, which was headed up by a Missouri player at the near post. Senior Meggie Dougherty Howard headed the ball forward where Troccoli hit a turning, right-footed shot which deflected off Samantha Chung to score from six yards.
 
Monteagudo scored again, putting the Gators up 3-1 early in the second half. She received the ball on a throw-in above the box. She drove down the side of the box and then sent a right-footed 12-yard shot which scored at the upper far post corner.
 
Missouri scored twice in the span of a minute to tie the match. Missouri's Melanie Donaldson received the ball just wide of the six-yard box, turned with the ball and sent a shot which scored at the far post.
 
The tying goal started with Erin Webb bringing the ball down the left side of the box. The centering ball she sent was just touched by the head of Jessica Johnson. That touch put the ball in at the far post.
 
Penalty Kicks Decide Match:

The advancing team was determined by penalty kicks. The Tigers won the toss, taking the first shot. After both teams hitting their penalty kicks through the first seven rounds, Missouri's Savannah Trujillo shot was stopped by Gator goalkeeper Kaylan Marckese.
 
The deciding kick came from Monteagudo, giving the Gators the 8-7 advantage.
 
Florida is now 3- 5 all-time in penalty kicks. In SEC Tournament play, this is Florida's first advancement on penalty kicks in its four attempts (1995 – first round, 2003 – final, 2014 – quarterfinal, 2016 - quarterfinal).

Hear from Becky Burleigh:
On today's match:
"It was a roller coaster. We gave up the early goal, then get up 2-1, 3-1 and then Missouri does an amazing job of coming back in the second half and putting a lot of pressure on us. Thought they rattled us a little bit. I think a lot of this had to do with their tactics – they did a very good job. In the overtime, we sort of got it back. I think that is a really big lesson for us to see. If we do lose our way, we can find our way back. That was the best penalties ever in the history of the Gator soccer program." - Florida Head Coach Becky Burleigh
 
Has the team been practicing their penalties?
"We really have not put that much emphasis on it. We have the players do it after training on their own and I think they've done a really good job of being diligent about it." - Florida Head Coach Becky Burleigh

2016 Records:

Florida: 13-4-1, 8-3 SEC
MU: 11-6-2, 6-4-1 SEC
  
Rankings:

Florida is ranked No. 15 on the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll and Missouri is receiving votes.
 
Next up:

SEC Tournament semifinal action begins Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET at the Orange Beach SportsPlex with No. 15 Florida versus No. 2 and unbeaten South Carolina. The late semifinal has No. 11 Auburn versus No. 19 Arkansas at 7 p.m. ET.
 
Both matches air live on the SEC Network. Both matches can also be found on Watch ESPN –
Semifinal 1 at 4:30 p.m. ET
Semifinal 2 at 7 p.m. ET
 

SEC Tournament
Orange Beach, Ala. (# denote seed) - all times ET
Monday, October 31
#7 Tennessee 2, #10 Mississippi 0
#8 Texas A&M 1, #9 Alabama 0 2OT
 
Wednesday, November 2
#2 Auburn 3, Tennessee 1
#3 Arkansas 1, #6 Vanderbilt 0
#1 South Carolina 2, #8 Texas A&M 1
#4 Florida 3, #5 Missouri 3 (UF advances 8-7 on PKs)
 
Friday, November 4
#1 South Carolina vs #4 Florida 4:30 p.m.
#2 Auburn vs #3 Arkansas 7:00 p.m.
 
Sunday, November 6
SEC Tournament 4:00 p.m.
 
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No. 15 Florida versus RV Missouri
Stadium: Orange Beach Sportsplex  
Weather: mostly cloudy, 57 degrees, 89% humidity, NNW 6 mph
 

Goals by Period	1	2	OT	OT	Total
Missouri	1	2	0	0	3
Florida	2	1	0	0	3

 
Scoring Summary:

No.	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist
1.	2:07	MU	Jessica Johnson	Allie Hess
2.	13:07	UF	Melanie Monteagudo	Mayra Pelayo, Sarah Troccoli
3.	22:40	UF	Sarah Troccoli	Meggie Dougherty Howard
4.	46:19	UF	Melanie Monteagudo
5.	60:25	MU	Melanie Donaldson
6.	60:34	MU	Jessica Johnson	Erin Webb

 
Shots: MU 15, Florida 18
Saves: Missouri 7 (Kelsey Dossey 7), Florida 4 (Kaylan Marckese 4)
 
Cautions and Ejections:
Melanie Donaldson, MU – yellow (35:32), Meggie Dougherty Howard, UF – yellow (47:35)
 

Penalty Kicks
Missouri	7	Florida	8
Melanie Donaldson	X	Pamela Begic	X
Allie Hess	X	Meggie Dougherty Howard	X
Madison Lewis	X	Brooke Sharp	X
Erin Webb	X	Savannah Jordan	X
Rachel Hignett	X	Sarah Troccoli	X
Kaitlyn Clark	X	Gabby Seiler	X
Lauren Selaiden	X	Samantha Chung	X
Savannah Trujillo	0	Melanie Monteagudo	X