Erika Tymrak picked a good time to rediscover her scoring stroke.
No. 23 Florida (16-6) received a goal and an assist from Tymrak, a junior midfielder, during its 2-1 win against Alabama (11-8-3) in the SEC Tournament semifinal Friday night.
The Gators advance to their 13th SEC Tournament final in the program’s 17-year history. They will take on No. 7 seed Auburn on Sunday, which upset third-seeded Tennessee in the semifinal and the No. 2 seed LSU in the first round.
Coming into Orange Beach, Ala., Tymrak, UF's leading scorer with 11 goals and five assists on the season, had not scored a point since scoring two goals and an assist in a 3-2 overtime win against Auburn on Oct. 7.
“Every player has their slumps,” Tymrak said. “But my team had my back completely.”
Tymrak assisted on the game-winning goal in the 81st minute when she had the ball at the top of the eighteen-yard box and spotted senior forward Lindsay Thompson to her left. Tymrak crossed it to Thompson who put it past Crimson Tide keeper and Canadian national team member Justine Bernier from 8 yards out.
“She was on fire tonight,” said Gators coach Becky Burleigh of Tymrak, who finished the game with 5 shots, three of which were on frame.
The Crimson Tide got on the board first though in the 33rd minute freshman defender Ashley Willis played a corner kick to forward Janea Simpson at the middle of the top of the box. Simpson played the ball up to freshman forward Pia Rijsdijk who put it past Gators keeper Taylor Burke from 7 yards out.
However, Tymrak made sure Alabama’s lead was short-lived.
One minute later, sophomore midfielder Caroline Triglia was at the top of the box when she found Tymrak to her left by the back post. The move baited Bernier away from her net and allowed Tymrak to put a 7-yard shot past the keeper.
“We brought it in right after they scored and were like, ‘We’re not going to let this affect us. We have to go out and keep fighting and working hard,’” Tymrak said. “The first attack we just went for it.”
Burleigh said the quick answer to the Crimson Tide goal benefited the Gators during the rest of the game.
“We did not lose a lot of emotional energy chasing the game,” Burleigh said. “That was big, and then I think it was right back to business trying to break them down.”
