ORANGE BEACH, Ala. –She couldn't have picked a better time to score her first header goal.
University of Florida senior
Brooke Sharp headed in the golden goal in the 100
th minute to give the Gators a 2-1 win over Arkansas Sunday afternoon at the Orange Beach Sportsplex. The win gave Florida the Southeastern Conference Soccer Tournament title – the team's second consecutive and 12th overall.
With the win, Florida receives the SECs automatic NCAA berth. The Gators will be making its 20th NCAA appearance in the 22-year history of the program. The entire field is revealed on
NCAA.com Monday at 4:30 p.m. ET.
How the Goals Were Scored:
Florida scored in the first half and Arkansas in the second to send the match to the fourth overtime in the 22-match all-time series between the two programs.
Florida struck first in the opening half. The goal started when
Julia Lester brought the ball into to the top right corner of the box. She saw
Melanie Monteagudo open deep in the box on the right. She sent the ball to Monteagudo who one-touched the ball to
Savannah Jordan located at the near post. Jordan turned and used her left foot to score in the 29
th minute.
Arkansas tied the match when Alexandra Fischer recovered a Gator clearance attempt above the box. Her shot from 22 yards scored at the upper slot in the 79
th minute.
With the first overtime heading into the final minute, a trio of Gator seniors put the decisive play in motion. From just above the box,
Meggie Dougherty Howard sent the ball ahead to
Savannah Jordan. Seeing Dougherty Howard continuing her run through the box, Jordan touched the ball back to her just above endline. The cross Dougherty Howard sent to the far post was headed in by
Brooke Sharp with 59 seconds left in the first overtime.
Worth Noting:
- Overtime has decided five of Florida's 17 SEC Tournament final appearances and the Gators are now 3-1-1 in SEC Tournament overtime matches. Florida's first SEC Tournament win came 20 years ago, also against Arkansas. The goal scored by then freshman Sarah Yohe at 134:50 for a 3-2 win is still the latest golden goal in the program's 22-year history.
- Sharp's goal was her second of 2016 and the 18th of her career. Sharp also scored in Florida's 2-1 win against Texas A&M in the 2015 SEC Tournament final.
- Jordan's goal is her 15th of 2016 and the 80th of her career. In NCAA Division I history, 20 players have scored 80 or more goals and Jordan is one of seven to reach that mark since 2000.
- Florida faced two of the three teams in the final two rounds of the SEC Tournament that took wins in the 2016 regular-season meetings. Florida lost 1-0 in overtime at No. 2 South Carolina on Oct. 16 and won 1-0 in the SEC semifinal on Friday. In the second league match of the season, Arkansas won 2-1 in Fayetteville on Sept. 16. Fifty-one days later, Florida takes the win by the same score.
- Florida leads the all-time series 21-1. Including today's result, 12 of those meetings have been decided by a single goal.
- Today's finalists tied for third in the SEC regular-season standings. Arkansas took the No. 3 seed for the tournament based on its regular-season win over Florida.
2016 Records:
Florida: 15-4-1, 8-3 SEC
UA: 17-5, 8-3 SEC
SEC Tournament Title Notes:
- This is Florida's 12th win in its 17 SEC Tournament final appearances.
- The Gators lead the league in both total SEC titles (14) and SEC Tournament (12) crowns.
All-Tournament Gators
Four Florida players appear on the 2016 SEC All-Tournament team –
Kristen Cardano, Meggie Dougherty Howard,
Savannah Jordan and
Gabby Seiler.
The SEC Tournament Most Valuable Player went to Dougherty Howard. This is the 14
th time a Gator has claimed the SEC Tournament MVP. She registered assists in each of Florida's three matches, including today's game-winning goal.
Hear from the Gators:
Florida has a chance to play a couple of teams that took the win in the regular season. How does that help the team to see its progress?
"The big thing we preach is growth and progress and so for us, it was great to see some of the teams we've seen before and have progress against them. It was a tough tournament, there's no question. It was physical, tight, emotional. Everything about it was not easy and that's exactly what we need. We don't want it to be easy because this is the preparation we need going into NCAAs." Florida Head Coach
Becky Burleigh
What will your team learn from this tournament?
"That has to be the biggest benefit of being here. I think every game we learned something and then we built on those things. The first game we focused on playing free and having fun. In the second game we focused on our response because I thought we were a little uptight in the first game. In this game, we talked about when things happen, will we be willing to stay together and play for each other. I think we should that we will do just that."- Florida Head Coach
Becky Burleigh
What happened on your goal?
"It was a really good buildup from out wide. (Julia) Lester and Mel (Monteagudo) had it and they did a one-two around a player and Mel played a great ball into the box. I took a touch and placed it in at the far corner with my left foot. It was a really good possession by us." – senior forward
Savannah Jordan
You scored the winner off your head, not your usual weapon when you shoot.
"I think it was the first header I've scored. In my sophomore year, I wasn't too good at heading. [UF Assistant Coach]
Alan Kirkup would say 'If you score with your head, I can retire' and he still says that in practice when I head the ball. So this is a big deal for me to score the winning goal with a header." – senior forward
Brooke Sharp
What happened on your golden goal?
"Meggie [Dougherty Howard] had the ball out wide and she crossed it in. When I saw her go out wide, I just sprinted into the box and she played an awesome ball in and I headed it in. It was a cool feeling as the team swarmed me." – senior forward
Brooke Sharp
What did you think of the team's performance today?
"I'm really happy with our whole team performance. It was definitely an effort on all ends – from those on the bench, in the stands and on the field – everyone played a role in getting us to this game and winning this championship. We fought hard until the end. We knew we had it in us to get this win. We stuck with our game plan and really fought for each other out there, which is why I think we won." – senior midfielder
Meggie Dougherty Howard
Rankings:
Florida is ranked No. 15 on the latest
National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll and Arkansas is No. 19.
Next up:
The 2016 NCAA Championship field is revealed Monday, Nov. 7 at 4:30 p.m. ET on
NCAA.com.
Florida will make its 20
th NCAA appearance in the program's 22-year history. The Gators advanced to NCAA Round of 16 action in 2015, losing 2-1 to eventual NCAA runner-up Duke.
Thirty-one conferences will receive automatic qualification for the 2016 championship and the remaining 33 teams will be selected on an at-large basis. To be considered during the at-large selection process, a team must have an overall won-lost record of .500 or better. The Southeastern Conference's automatic berth goes to the winner of the league tournament.
SEC Tournament
Orange Beach, Ala. (# denote seed)
Monday, October 31
#7 Tennessee 2, #10 Mississippi 0
#8 Texas A&M 1, #9 Alabama 0 2OT
Wednesday, November 2
#2 Auburn 3, Tennessee 1
#3 Arkansas 1, #6 Vanderbilt 0
#1 South Carolina 2, #8 Texas A&M 1
#4 Florida 3, #5 Missouri 3 (UF advances 8-7 on PKs)
Friday, November 4
#4 Florida 1, #1 South Carolina 0
#3 Arkansas 3, #2 Auburn 1
Sunday, November 6
#4 Florida 2, #3 Arkansas 1 OT
Follow the Gators:
No. 15 Florida versus No. 19 Arkansas
Stadium: Orange Beach Sportsplex (1,178)
Weather: partly cloudy, 72 degrees, 47% humidity, ESE 7 mph
| Goals by Period |
1 |
2 |
OT |
Total |
| Florida |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| Arkansas |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
Scoring Summary:
Shots: Florida 10, UA 11
Saves: Florida 4 (
Kaylan Marckese 4), Arkansas 2 (Cameron Carter 2)
Cautions and Ejections:
None
