The crowd of 1,771 fans in attendance at James G. Pressly Stadium were given a game to remember Thursday night. In a hotly contested matchup between two of the top teams in the SEC, Florida Gators soccer team and South Carolina mirrored each other all night. They traded everything from shots to offsides in the defensive affair. Yet, despite the 2-1 finish in double overtime, the game had a more “edge-of-your-seat” feeling all game despite the “defensive” moniker.
In a game in which the Florida Gators soccer team eventually came away with a win in spectacular fashion, they played a little on the conservative side early. This proved problematic as the Gamecocks came in prepared to get a jump on the Gators and out-physical Florida right out of the gate. Florida fell behind quickly to 17th ranked South Carolina. Just five minutes and 39 seconds into the contest, the Gamecocks’ Savannah McCaskill took a long throw-in and punched in the opening goal past Florida’s Kaylan Markese as she attempted to retrieve the throw-in.
The visitors from Columbia appeared to have the Gators’ number early, as they played crisper and more aggressive in the opening minutes. The tide permanently shifted, however, 20 minutes and six seconds into the first period. When Florida’s Savannah Jordan took a long down field pass and slipped it in from seven yards out, the team was reinvigorated and began to play every bit as tough, crisp, and smart as the Gamecocks did.
By the end of the first half of play, the Gators were tied 1-1 and had attempted five shots apiece. Additionally, both sides played stout defense when they needed to in order to prevent any more scoring. One major departure, though, was the bevy of six fouls committed by South Carolina in the opening period. While the Gators played tenacious in the final 25 minutes of the half, they were not charged with any fouls.
As the second period got underway, both coaching staffs were likely content with where their teams were at that point in the game. There had not been many major errors by either squad and it would be reasonable to assume that just one slip-up would have occurred to cause the game to end in regulation. That was not meant to be, as the classic matchup had other ideas. With neither side refusing to budge, the game went into overtime.
Florida proceeded to open the extra period on the attack. This benefitted themas it normally does- and resulted in them being on South Carolina’s end of the field for what felt like almost the entire third period. A sidebar to this discussion- when Florida plays aggressive, attacking ball, they look like arguably the best team in the SEC. If the Gators can keep that up for a whole game, there isn’t one team they cannot beat. This is evidenced by their win over then top-ranked Florida State earlier this season. Despite this, both sides were again unable to manage a goal.
Into the fourth and final period we go. By the end of the final 10 minute period, the match was finally going to be decided- even if it was as a tie. As Florida coach Becky Burleigh noted, a tie “would have benefitted neither of us. It would have benefited Missouri.” Fortunately, the Gators did themselves and the Gamecocks a favor and finally turned what looked to be a painful stalemate for both teams into an unforgettable miracle victory as time expired.
As the fans counted down with the scoreboard during the final seconds of the fourth period, Florida’s Liz Slattery found herself in position to take one final shot. As the clock read 0:01, Slattery finally found the Gators’ elusive golden goal. She chipped the ball over the head of South Carolina’s Caroline Kelly and into the net. A moment later, Slattery was mobbed by her teammates and the showdown was over. The Gators had won. Asked if she felt rushed during the 10-second countdown, she answered, “Honestly, it was weird. I felt really calm, and I felt like everything just kind of slowed down.”
Continuing on about her golden goal, Slattery stated, “It’s unreal. Coming into this game, I never would’ve expected that. It’s just a testament to when you work hard for the people around you and they work hard for you, good things happen.”
The eighth-ranked Gators are now 12-3-1 (6-2-1 SEC) and control the conference. For Florida, now they don’t have to worry about Missouri making things problematic for them, all the Gators have to do is handle their business as they have and the sky’s the limit.
Game Notes:
Slattery’s golden goal was the latest ever for Florida in the 10-minute overtime setup.
Previously, it had been in their 2001 NCAA Quarterfinal against UCLA.
Savannah Jordan leads the SEC with 15 goals.
Florida took 13 shots while the Gamecocks attempted 14.
The Gators had two saves to South Carolina’s four.