With the first half dwindling into its final five minutes, Alabama sophomore midfielder Melina Rebimbas drove into the box.
Nedya Sawan, a Crimson Tide senior forward, sprinted down the field to receive a pass from Rebimbas and found the back of the net to give Alabama a 1-0 lead just before halftime. As the teams broke out from their huddles for the second half, the Tide kicked it into a different gear.
The crestfallen contest wasn’t a first for Florida (4-6-6, 1-5-2 SEC) this season. The Gators entered the contest against Alabama (9-4-5, 2-2-5 SEC) in need of a critical win with UF’s conference tournament bid hanging in the balance. However, UF was unable to come away with a victory on the road in Tuscaloosa on Thursday in a 3-1 loss to the Crimson Tide.
Alabama dominated time of possession while taking 16 more shots than the Gators. Florida played over 60 minutes down a player following graduate student defender Daviana Vaka receiving a red card for slide-tackling Alabama junior forward Gianna Paul near the goal.
Alabama was constantly on the attack to open the match. The Crimson Tide’s offense, which entered the match with 36 goals this season, totaled five shots in the first 25 minutes of the contest, while Florida only crossed midfield only four times.
Much of Alabama’s early attack came at the feet of Paul and graduate student midfielder Kate Henderson. Both attempted two shots in the first 20 minutes.
With the remaining 45 minutes looming, Florida’s offense, which had only accounted for 11 goals through 15 matches, was tasked with digging itself out of a lofty hole against a quality Crimson Tide squad.
Alabama opened the second half scoring two goals in the first 10 minutes and never looked back. Paul and graduate student defender Itala Gemelli both added their names to the scoring column. With Paul’s goal, she is now the leading goal scorer in the SEC with 11 this season.
As the match was nearly decided, Florida graduate midfielder Delaney Tauzel launched a shot into the left side of Alabama’s net. The Gators goal staved off a shutout, but coming in the 84th minute was too little, too late to help Florida even the score.
Currently in 14th place in the SEC and seven points back from qualifying for the SEC Tournament, the Gators are eliminated from the SEC Tournament following their loss to Alabama.
Florida will head back to Gainesville to face Oklahoma on Sunday at 4 p.m.
Contact Noah White at nwhite@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @noahwhite1782
Noah White is a sophomore majoring in journalism and public relations and The Alligator's Women's Tennis Reporter. In his free time, Noah writes some more and plays soccer and volleyball. He also knows more about Liberty League women's soccer than you do.
