ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – The Florida soccer team ended South Carolina's unbeaten season Friday with a 1-0 win in Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinal action held late Friday afternoon at the Orange Beach Sportsplex.
 
The Gamecocks came into Friday's match as the nation's last unbeaten team in NCAA Division I play. Florida's first-half goal off Savannah Jordan's header was the only score of the match. It was the fifth consecutive meeting between these two teams decided by a single goal. When the two teams met last month in Columbia, S.C., the Gamecocks hit a penalty kick in the second overtime to take a 1-0 double overtime win.
 
Florida now advances to face No. 19 Arkansas in Sunday's final. The Razorbacks will make their first SEC Tournament final appearance since 1996 after taking a 3-1 win over No. 11 Auburn in Friday's second semifinal. The SEC Tournament final is set for Sunday, Nov. 6 at 4 p.m. ET. That match airs live on ESNPU.
 
How the Goal Was Scored:
The goal started when Meggie Dougherty Howard sent the ball right to Mayra Pelayo, located just wide of the box. Pelayo brought the ball inside the box and her left-footed shot from 14 yards kicked off the cross bar. The ball traveled across to the far post where Jordan headed it in at 19:00.
 
Worth Noting:

• Jordan's goal is her 14^th of 2016 and the 79^th of her career. In NCAA Division I history, 22 players have scored 79 or more goals and Jordan is one of seven to reach that mark since 2000.
• The shutout was the eighth for Florida this season, with seven in the last 10 matches. Kaylan Marckese is now tied for fourth among Gators' goalkeepers for solo shutouts in a season at eight.
• Today's win sends Florida to the SEC Tournament final for the 17th time in the program's 22-year history. The Gators are the defending tournament champion and lead all programs with 11 SEC Tournament titles.
• Florida last defeat of the nation's No. 2 team was September 5, 2014 at Florida State (UF 2, FSU 1). This was the first time this season South Carolina was held scoreless in a match. Heading into Friday's match, the Gamecocks had played on 34 minutes from behind.
• The last time a SEC team entered the SEC Tournament with an undefeated league record was Florida in 2008 (also 11-0). That Gator team also was eliminated from the SEC Tournament in the semifinal round.
• Both Florida and Arkansas registered upsets in Friday's semifinal round to move ahead to Sunday's final. The higher seeds prevailed in the tournament's opening two days of play on Monday and Wednesday.

Hear from Becky Burleigh:
On today's match:
"It was a battle. We knew it would be. We have a lot of respect for South Carolina and what they've done this season is amazing. I'm sure they are going to be a high seed in the NCAA Tournament. I thought we really battled through that one. The goal was clutch and then to hold on was just a tremendous effort from our team.
 
"We knew we were going to get some chances. That was a great chance. Mayra (Pelayo) did some good stuff out wide to create it and then Savannah (Jordan) was there for the finish. I think she (Savannah) felt really comfortable in this game. She was a little banged up in the last one, but she recovered. So it was good to see her get one in.
 
"The backline was amazing and Kaylan (Markese - goalkeeper) as well. But I also think it was a total team effort and not just the 11 players on the field. They really worked hard for each other and had each other's back. I though we stayed really calm in a game that it was very difficult to stay calm. We discussed that at lunch today and thought our team executed that part well." - Florida Head Coach Becky Burleigh
 
How does it feel to have a chance to defend the team's SEC Tournament title?
"We are really excited. For us, we just want to play the best teams we can. South Carolina is not only one of the best teams in the SEC, but also one of the best teams in the country. So to get a chance to bring out a performance like that, they (South Carolina) aided that. Their high level of play helped pushed us to a high level of play. We are hoping whoever we play in the final will do the same." - Florida Head Coach Becky Burleigh

2016 Records:
Florida: 14-4-1, 8-3 SEC
USC: 18-1-1, 11-0 SEC
 
Rankings:
Florida is ranked No. 15 on the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll and South Carolina is No. 2.
 
Next up:
SEC Tournament final action is set for 4 p.m. ET at the Orange Beach SportsPlex.
 
That match airs live on ESPNU. It can also be followed on WatchESPN –
Final at 4 p.m. ET
 
SEC Tournament
Orange Beach, Ala. (# denote seed)
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
#4 Florida 1, #1 South Carolina 0
#3 Arkansas 3, #2 Auburn 1
 
Sunday, November 6
#3 Arkansas vs #4 Florida 1  4:00 p.m.
 
Follow the Gators:

Facebook
	Florida Gators Soccer
	Florida Gators
Twitter
	@GatorsSoccer
	@FloridaGators
	@UFGatorSoccer

 
 
No. 15 Florida versus No. 2 South Carolina
Stadium: Orange Beach Sportsplex 
Weather: partly cloudy, 83 degrees, 53% humidity, NNW 8 mph
 

Goals by Period	1	2	Total
Florida	1	0	1
South Carolina	0	0	0

 
Scoring Summary:

No.	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist
1.	19:00	UF	Savannah Jordan	Mayra Pelayo, Meggie Dougherty Howard

 
Shots: Florida 10, USC 12
Saves: Florida 3 (Kaylan Marckese 3), South Carolina 4 (Mikayla Krzeczowski 4)
 
Cautions and Ejections:
Claire Studebaker/USC – yellow (67:38), Kristen Cardano/UF – yellow (67:38)