Adriana Leon’s first goal in orange and blue was golden.
In the 100th minute, the junior striker booted a shot from 18 yards out to give No. 22 Florida (4-3-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) a come-from-behind 2-1 win against Auburn (4-5, 0-2 SEC) in extra time on Sunday afternoon at the AU Soccer Complex.
“It was really exciting,” Leon said. “It was great to finally put one in the back of the net.”
The play began when senior Erika Tymrak was awarded a free kick after a foul. Choosing to restart quickly, she sent a pass to Leon above the arc for the dagger.
“We made eye contact,” Leon said, “and we just knew it was the right play.”
Senior Holly King added: “It was funny. After she scored, she said, ‘That wasn’t even a good shot.’ She wasn’t even celebrating. She was judging her own goal, but I’m sure it gave her confidence.”
Leon’s overtime game-winner is UF’s second this season and the first for the junior transfer from Notre Dame. On Aug. 26, Tymrak scored the golden goal in an upset of then-No. 2 Duke.
The rebound win for UF comes after a 2-1 loss to Kentucky on Friday night in Lexington, Ky. In that game, Florida relinquished an early lead.
But Sunday’s match started differently for the Gators. Auburn struck first in the fifth minute when Mary Coffed scored off a cross from Tatiana Coleman.
“The difference between this game and last game is that we were way more patient, even though [Auburn] went up,” King said. “We just made sure to not panic, because they sat in the box. We just passed it around and tried to switch it as much as possible.”
Down 1-0 at the half, coach Becky Burleigh expected her team to win.
“I told the bench right after the starting team went out at halftime,” she said. “I said, ‘Get ready to run out on the field for the golden-goal celebration, because we’re going to win this.’”
The Gators equalized the score in the 73rd minute when King scored inside a crowded box. The pass came from senior Jo Dragotta on a set piece.
After King’s goal, the Gators dominated the Tigers on both sides of the ball until the match ended.
“Auburn was a little tired, so we had them on their toes right where we wanted them,” King said. “Going into overtime, we were extremely confident, and we were able to put it away.”
Sunday added a significant chapter to the recent rivalry between both teams. Last season, the Gators knocked off the Tigers 3-2 in overtime but fell to them in the SEC Tournament final.
UF is now 3-2 in matches in which its opponent scores first.
The Gators held an 11-3 advantage on corner kicks against the Tigers and outshot them 22-9.
“It’s big, because it’s very, very difficult to play against a set defense,” Burleigh said. “To win against a team who did that speaks for us.”
Adriana Leon (91) gets past Nicole Diperna (16) of Florida International University during UF's 3-0 win on Sept. 2. Leon scored the game-winning goal in overtime against Auburn on Sunday at the AU Soccer Complex.
