Annie Speese was getting frustrated with her shots.
The sophomore midfielder had taken five shots in the first 15 minutes of the second half, and none of them were finding their marks. One went wide, three were saved by Florida Gulf Coast goalkeeper Brittany Brown and one found its way past Brown, but bounced off the post.
Speese’s luck finally changed in the 77th minute.
“[Senior midfielder Erika Tymrak] ran down the end line, the defenders were kind of checking back with her, so I found the gap back at the PK spot, and I kind of screamed for her,” Speese said.
Tymrak crossed the ball to Speese, and Speese found the back of the net, giving the Gators their second goal of the game, and that was all they would need. Florida (18-4-1, 11-2 Southeastern Conference) defeated FGCU 2-0 Friday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Tymrak picked up the game-winning goal early in the match. She and junior forward Adriana Leon teamed up in the 22nd minute. Tymrak and Leon passed the ball between each other, and Leon found Tymrak wide open at the top of the penalty box. Tymrak fired a shot from 12 yards out and picked up her ninth goal of the season and her fourth in the last four games.
The Gators held the Eagles’ (14-4-1, 7-1-1 Atlantic Sun Conference) offense in check on Friday and kept them from getting off any shots. Florida’s defense was aided by the return of All-American center back Kat Williamson, who played 33 minutes.
Williamson had not played since suffering a torn right meniscus against Florida International on Sept. 2.
“I definitely was a little nervous,” Williamson said. “But it was great to have some minutes today. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to get on, but I was really glad I was able to.”
With their victory, the Gators move to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and will play either Central Florida or Miami on Nov. 16 or 18.
