ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – Florida soccer withstood playing the final 53 minutes of Southeastern Conference Tournament opening round play versus Auburn a man-down. Then the Gators posted a dominant penalty kick performance to claim a SEC Tournament quarterfinal spot.
 
The Gators advance 2-1 on penalty kicks after the two teams played to a 1-1 double overtime tie Sunday at the Orange Beach Sportsplex.
 
With the result, Florida moves ahead to face top-seeded Vanderbilt in Tuesday's SEC Tournament quarterfinal round. That match is the third of the day and airs live on the SEC Network at 6 p.m. ET.



Sunday's Action:
Florida took the early lead when sophomore Madison Alexander was awarded a penalty kick in the 20^th minute. Alexander scored on the penalty kick – the first awarded to Florida in 2018 – to put UF ahead.
 
After senior Sarah Troccoli received a red-card in the 57^th minute, the Gators were forced to finish with 10 players.
 
The Tigers tied the match in the 74^th minute when Taylor Troutman headed in an Angeline Daly corner kick.
 
After two overtime periods, the match went to penalty kicks. The Tigers took the first shot, with Kaylan Marckese making the stop. Marckese then stepped in to take Florida's first penalty, hitting a successful shot. Auburn missed its first three PKs and Florida's Tess Sapone was successful in the third position.
 
When Marckese made the stop on Rocio Sanders' attempt in the fifth position, the Gators rushed to celebrate the penalty kick win with Marckese.

Kaylan for President:
After stopping three of Auburn's penalty kicks and hitting the first one for Florida, the Gators greeted senior goalkeeper Kaylan Marckese after the PK victory with chants of "Kaylan for president!"
 
It was quite a performance, as Marckese made stops on three of Auburn's PK attempts (other two – high and good).
 
She also made the quick transition after stopping the first attempt by Bri Folds to taking Florida's first attempt. She was successful in her kick, fulfilling a four-year goal to take a PK for the Gators.
 
"I've always loved PKs," Marckese said. "It was great to get out there and do it in a pressure environment. We do them in practice and I work on seeing the player's hips and their feet and where they look. I tried to add some explosive power and got behind it today. I read it pretty well."


 
Notes:

• Florida is now 2-5 in penalty kick situations at the SEC Tournament. The Gators have advanced on their last two PK situations, as UF moved on over Missouri in 2016 SEC quarterfinal play. Marckese has been in goal for both of UF's SEC Tournament penalty kick advancements.
• Florida and Auburn now have played overtime five times in the all-time 28-match series and this was the second in SEC Tournament play. Florida lost in PKs to Auburn in its first SEC Tournament appearance in 1995.
• With her first-half goal, Alexander now is tied with senior Laís Araujo for the Gators' 2018 goals lead (5)
• After tonight's 110 minutes of overtime play, Marckese is now No. 2 on Florida's career goalkeeper minutes list at 7,007. Taylor Burke (2011-14) leads the chart at 7,504 minutes.
• The Gators have played five overtime matches in 2018, with all going to double overtime. Florida is 0-1-4 in 2018 overtime matches.
• The 53 minutes playing a man-down is the longest among the 10 player red cards in the program's 24-year history.

 




2018 Records:
Florida: 6-9-4, 4-4-2 SEC
Auburn: 12-5-2, 4-5-1 SEC
 
Series Record:
Florida leads 17-9-2.
 
The Gators are now 5-2-2 versus the Tigers in SEC Tournament action.
 
Next Up:
2018 Southeastern Conference Tournament play continues Tuesday in Orange Beach, Ala. Each match of the SEC Tournament airs live on the SEC Network.
 

FIRST ROUND: October 28	Match 1 – LSU 3, Missouri 2 2OT	2 p.m. ET	SEC Network
	Match 2 – Florida 1, Auburn 1 2OT (UF 2-1 PK)	4:30 pm	SEC Network
QUARTERFINALS: October 30	Match 3 - Tennessee vs LSU	1 pm	SEC Network
	Match 4 – Texas A&M vs South Carolina	3:30 pm	SEC Network
	Match 5 - Vanderbilt vs Florida	6 pm	SEC Network
	Match 6 - Arkansas vs Mississippi	8:30 pm	SEC Network
SEMIFINALS: November 1	Match 7 - W Match #5 vs W Match #6	4:30 pm	SEC Network
	Match 8 - W Match #3 vs W Match #4	7 pm	SEC Network
FINAL: November 4	Championship - W Match #8 vs W Match #7	3 pm	SEC Network

 
Auburn (12-5-2, 4-5-1 SEC) at Florida (6-9-4, 4-4-2 SEC)  
Orange Beach Sportsplex
78 degrees, winds WSW 11 mph, 57% humidity
 

Goals by Period	1	2	OT 1	OT 2	Total	PKs
Auburn	0	1	0	0	1	1
Florida	1	0	0	0	1	2

 

No.	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Description
1.	19:41	UF	Madison Alexander		Penalty Kick
2.	73:46	AU	Taylor Troutman	Angeline Daly	Header off corner kick

 
Shots: AUB 25, UF 15
Saves: AUB 6 (Sarah Le Beau 6), UF 5 (Kaylan Marckese 5)
 

Penalty Kicks
Auburn	Result	Florida	Result
Bri Folds	0	Kaylan Marckese	X
Treva Aycock	0	Georgia Eaton-Collins	0
Angeline Daly	0	Tess Sapone	X
Gianna Montini	X	Madison Alexander	0
Rocio Sanders	0
Final: Florida advances 2-1 on penalty kicks

 Cautions:
Sarah Le Beau/AU – yellow (19:41), Karen Hoppa-Head Coach/AU – yellow (19:48), Jessie Gerow/AU – yellow (41:28), Sarah Troccoli/UF – red (56:12)