Florida entered Thursday night’s matchup with South Carolina in control of its finish in the Southeastern Conference. But, for the first two-thirds of the game, the Gators passed on their opportunity to seize control.
Several times in the first half, UF attackers opted to pass the ball rather than take shots that could have given Florida the lead.
Adriana Leon changed that in the 65th minute.
The junior forward received a pass from midfielder Erika Tymrak and fired a shot past Gamecocks goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo.
With a little help from the foot of a South Carolina defender, the ball found its way into the back of the net for the Gators’ first goal.
“That was huge,” midfielder Annie Speese said. “Because we just kept pushing and pushing for a goal, and when it finally happened, it let us relax even more.”
Leon’s score proved to be the game-winner in Florida’s (14-4-1, 11-2 SEC) 3-0 victory against South Carolina (6-9-4, 3-7-3 SEC) on Thursday in Columbia, S.C.
With the win, the Gators clinched their second SEC championship in three years.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” said Tymrak, who was a key player on the 2010 SEC championship team.
“Our team is incredible. … This is definitely going to be one of my favorite memories.”
After Leon put Florida on the board, Speese added insurance.
In the 74th minute, junior Taylor Travis sent a corner kick toward the goal, where it was headed by a South Carolina defender and bobbled by the keeper. Speese took advantage of the miscue and scored the Gators’ second goal.
“I just kind of got lucky with the rebound,” Speese said. “It came right to me, and I just volleyed it in.”
Speese was not done scoring.
With three minutes left in the game, she put the finishing touch on the victory.
Sophomore outside back Tessa Andujar dribbled up the goal line and delivered a pass to Speese directly in front of the net.
Speese beat the keeper for the second time in 14 minutes, extending Florida’s lead to 3-0.
“[Andujar] found me with a perfect ball, and I just kind of redirected it,” Speese said. “It’s one that we’ve been talking about all season, and it’s nice to finally execute.”
Florida secured the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament with the win.
Tournament play begins on Wednesday.
The 2012 SEC title is Florida’s 12th conference crown, all of which have come under coach Becky Burleigh.
“I do not take any single one of these for granted,” Burleigh said. “Last year, when we didn’t win it, it was such a disappointment, and so to get back on top again — it’s huge. Every single one of them feels great.”
Although Burleigh said winning the SEC title was one of Florida’s primary goals this season, she added that the team has more on its mind than just a conference championship.
“As exciting as it was, our team was really calm when we won,” Burleigh said.
“Of course they were super happy, but we didn’t act like we just won the national championship. … They have bigger fish to fry.”
The Gators soccer team poses for a photograph following their 3-0 victory against South Carolina on Thursday in Columbia, S.C. UF clinched its second SEC championship in three years.
