The SEC showdown between No. 11 Florida and No. 23 South Carolina was headed for a stalement when Liz Slattery‘s chip that dipped under the crossbar gave theGators a 2-1 overtime win. Entering the match, Florida and South Carolina were both among a three-way tie for first place in the SEC standings. The win leaves the Gators in first with two leaguematches remaining.
The game-winning goal started with a throw-in by freshman Briana Solis with 10 seconds remaining in the second overtimeperiod. The ball bounced around in the box until Slattery gathered up the ball at the top of the box, took a couple of touches before sending her golden goal that crossed the goal line with a singletick remaining.
“Meggie [Dougherty Howard] and Savannah [Jordan] made a huge effort in the box to get theball and get it back out, and they were trying to score,” said Slattery. “It just happened to pop right out to me, and I just took a touch right past the girl and chipped it. It was the mostslow-motion thing I’ve ever witnessed in my life. It was like, 3, 2, 1, net.”
It was Slattery’s fourth goal of the season, second game-winner and her first collegiate golden goal.
