COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Southeastern Conference championship will be decided Friday evening at 7 when No. 8 Florida meets No. 17 South Carolina at the Eugene E. Stone III Stadium. Both Florida and South Carolina are 8-1-1 in the SEC. Sun Sports and Fox Sports Florida will carry the match live.
Florida is seeking its 11th SEC championship, while South Carolina is seeking its first.
The winner of the match will earn the SEC title and the top seed in next week’s SEC Tournament at Orange Beach, Ala. If the match ends in a tie, the Gators and Gamecocks will share the championship and the No. 1 seed would go to South Carolina, which enters tonight’s match with a one-goal advantage in goal differential (goals scored-goals allowed).
The scenario almost matches last season. In the regular-season finale played at Gainesville, Florida claimed a 3-0 victory with McKenzie Barney scoring two first-half goals and Holly King adding the third goal in the 88th minute. That gave Florida its 10th SEC championship, but a week later, South Carolina prevailed 1-0 in the SEC Tournament semifinals and the Gamecocks eventually won the SEC Tournament title.
Both teams enter the match riding winning streaks – Florida four and South Carolina three.
Last week, Florida scored a 2-0 victory at Louisiana State on goals by freshman Taylor Travis and Natalia Torosian. On Sunday, the Gators prevailed over Arkansas 3-1 on goals by sophomore King, junior Sarah Chapman and sophomore Barney. The goal for Barney was her 10th of the season, tying her with Tahnai Annis for the team lead, one short of SEC leader Kayla Grimsley of South Carolina. Travis was named to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week and picked up her second SEC Freshman of the Week honor with her goal and two assists last weekend.
Georgia enters the match off a pair of victories over Arkansas (3-1) and Louisiana State (1-0). Grimsley, a member of the U.S. Under 20 National Team last spring, also leads the SEC in scoring with 31 points. Goalkeeper Mollie Patton leads the SEC with her 0.58 goals-against average.
SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS
EASTERN DIVISION SEC (Pts)/Overall
(12) Florida 8-1-1 (25)/14-2-2
(18) South Carolina 8-1-1 (25)/14-3-2
Tennessee 6-3-1 (19)/9-8-1
(25) Georgia 5-2-3 (18)/10-4-4
Vanderbilt 4-4-2 (14)/8-8-2
Kentucky 3-5-2 (11)/9-7-2
WESTERN DIVISION SEC/Overall
Auburn 4-4-2 (14)/10-6-2
Louisiana State 3-4-3 (12)/6-8-4
Mississippi 3-4-3 (12)/7-8-4
Alabama 3-5-2 (11)/8-7-2
Arkansas 2-6-2 (8)/5-10-3
Mississippi State 0-10-0 (0)/7-12-0
SCHEDULE
Friday / Oct. 29
Florida at South Carolina, 7 p.m. (SUN)
Vanderbilt at Kentucky, 7 p.m. (FSN)
Georgia at Tennessee, 7 p.m.
Arkansas at Louisiana State, 8 p.m.
Mississippi at Mississippi State, 8 p.m.
Alabama at Auburn, 8 p.m.
End of regular season
SEC WOMEN’S SOCCER TOURNAMENT
Orange Beach (Ala.) Sportsplex / Nov. 3-7, 2010
Current seedings
Rn/Team SEC record, Points, GD (GF-GA), GF
1. South Carolina 8-1-1, 25 points, +20 (26-6), 26
2. Florida 8-1-1, 25 points, +19 (26-7), 26
3. Tennessee 6-3-1, 19 points, +3 (13-10), 13
4. Georgia 5-2-3, 18 points, +7 (12-5), 12
5. Vanderbilt 4-4-2, 14 points, +1 (10-9), 10
6. Auburn 4-4-2, 14 points, 0 (14-14), 14
7. Louisiana State 3-4-3, 12 points, +1 (10-9), 10
8. Mississippi 3-4-3, 12 points, -7 (12-19), 12
(Out of tournament)
9. Kentucky 3-5-2, 11 points, -3 (13-16), 13
10. Alabama 3-5-2, 11 points, -4 (9-13), 9
11. Arkansas 2-6-2, 8 points, -2 (17-19), 17
12. Mississippi State 0-10-0, 0 points, -35 (5-40), 5
Wednesday / Nov. 3
Match 1: No. 7 seed vs. No. 2 seed, 1 p.m.
Match 2: No. 6 seed vs. No. 3 seed, 3:30 p.m.
Match 3: No. 8 seed vs. No. 1 seed (SEC Champion), 6 p.m.
Match 4: No. 5 seed vs. No. 4 seed, 8:30 p.m.
Friday / Nov. 5
Match 5: Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner, 6 p.m.
Match 6: Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner, 8:30 p.m.
Sunday / Nov. 7
Match 7: Match 5 winner vs. Match 6 winner, 3 p.m. (ESPNU) (Winner is SEC Tournament champion and NCAA Tournament automatic qualifier)
RANKINGS
For the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America Division I poll, click below:
http://www.ncaa.com/sports/w-soccer/division_i1.html
For the latest Soccer America poll, click below:
http://www.socceramerica.com/article/40172/soccer-america-womens-top-25-scoreboard.html
For the latest Top Drawer poll, click below:
http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soccer/college-soccer-tournament-ranking/women
For the latest Soccer Times poll, click below:
http://www.soccertimes.com/ncaa/top25/women.htm
For the latest 2010 RPI rankings, click below:
http://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/weeklyrpi/2010WSOrpi1.html