ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – South Carolina got sweet revenge on the Florida Gators’ women’s soccer team that beat it 3-0 last Friday for the Southeastern Conference Championship.
The No. 15 Gamecocks scored on a first-half penalty kick and made it stand up in a 1-0 victory over No. 8 Florida Friday in the SEC Tournament semifinals at the Orange Beach SportsPlex.
The Gamecocks (17-3-1, 7-3-1 SEC) will play No. 13 Louisiana State in Sunday’s championship match. The Gators fell to 15-5-2 overall (8-1-2 SEC).
Florida fell behind in the first half after Lindsay Small was fouled in the box, giving the Gamecocks their first penalty kick of the year. Kim Miller scored for the first penalty kick scored against the Gators in 2009.
Florida struggled at the beginning of the match before coming alive in the second half.
“I think it is hard to play a team that you just played a week before,” Florida coach Becky Burleigh said. “Obviously, they were really up for it because we beat them in Gainesville. We had a slow start in the first half, but I loved the way we played in the second half. We had our chances, some great looks,” Burleigh said.”
Florida finds out Monday night at 8 p.m. where and when and who it will play to open the 64-team NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship.