SEC Tournament Roundup: Texas A&M knocks out defending champions, top-seeded Arkansas moves on
A roundup of quarterfinal games of the 2023 SEC Tournament played on Tuesday, Oct. 31 from the Ashton Brosnaham Soccer Complex.
No. 6 Texas A&M 1, No. 3 South Carolina 0
The defending tournament champions were bounced following the first upset of the tournament.
The third-seeded Gamecocks were sent home after falling to the No. 6 Aggies thanks to a splendid unassisted goal and a dazzling save late in the second half.
After 78 scoreless minutes, Sydney Becerra cracked the scoreboard in the 79th minute. Dribbling into the box and avoiding a sliding-tackle attempt, the sophomore midfielder from Flower Mound, Texas stopped on a dime and fired a right-footed shot that curled past South Carolina goalkeeper Heather Hinz and into the bottom-left corner of the net.
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Within the same minute, the Gamecocks nearly tied the match. A shot from Shae O’Rourke was blasted on target from just outside the box when Kenna Caldwell elevated for a diving stop to her right.
That was the last shot that South Carolina got on goal as Caldwell finished with three saves. Hinz finished with four stops, including one in the final minute of action.
Improving its record to 9-6-4 this season, Texas A&M will play No. 2 Georgia at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in a semifinal match. Ranked 16th in the country, the Gamecocks (11-2-6) will await their seeding in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
No. 2 Georgia 2, No. 7 Kentucky 1
Playing nearly the entirety of the game with just 10 players, the No. 2-seeded Bulldogs showed tremendous guts in mounting a second-half comeback against the seventh-seeded Wildcats.
A goal from graduate midfielder Mallie McKenzie in the 81st minute was the difference as Georgia advanced to Thursday’s semifinal.
On a beautiful give-and-go with redshirt-senior midfielder Nicole Vernis, McKenzie beat Kentucky graduate goalkeeper Marzia Josephson with a strike to a bottom-left shelf. From there, the higher-seeded team held off the Wildcats as sophomore keeper Jordan Brown made saves in the 89th and 90 minutes to preserve the victory.
The Bulldogs were dealt with an uphill climb when Summer Denigan was sent off in the second minute. The redshirt freshman midfielder earned a red card after using her arm to block a header towards goal from Jordyn Rhodes. Úlfa Úlfarsdóttir capitalized on the opportunity by burying the ensuing penalty kick to give Kentucky an early 1-0 cushion.
That lead held until the 63’ minute until McKenzie delivered a beautiful cross into the box to a cutting Croix Bethune, who, off a bounce, headed in the equalizer.
Despite being one player down, Georgia owned a 16-7 advantage on shots and a 7-6 advantage on shots on target.
The Bulldogs improved to 9-4-5 overall this season while the Wildcats dropped to 9-4-6.
No. 1 Arkansas 4, No. 8 Auburn 0
Falling to the Tigers in their lone regular season meeting, the top-seeded Razorbacks earned sweet revenge by powering their way to the tournament semifinals.
Four different players scored for Arkansas, who scored twice in each half.
After pelting four shots in the game’s first 10 minutes, the Razorbacks eventually broke through in the 28th minute when Kennedy Ball found a wide open Morgan White in the middle of the box for the match’s opening score. They would double that lead six minutes later.
Receiving the SEC Midfielder of the Year award prior to the game, Bea Franklin headed in a corner kick sent in from Emilee Hauser to make it 2-0. Franklin wasn’t finished there, as she and Makenzie Malham combined for an assist on a goal from Anna Podojil. Malham floated a perfect pass from 40-yard away from goal and into the box for Podojil, when reeled in the ball with one touch before beating keeper Maddie Prohaska in the 63rd minute. It was the 50th career goal for the graduate forward from Cincinnati, Ohio.
Conversely, the scoring concluded by someone who notched her first career goal. Entering a substitute in the 83rd minutes, Kate Carter got on the scoresheet after finishing in the 84th minute.
That was more than offense for Phoebe Carver, who recorded two saves to collect the clean sheet. Prohaska had six saves for Auburn (8-7-5).
Arkansas (13-3-2), the 10th-ranked team in the country, plays No. 4 Mississippi State in a semifinal match at 5 p.m. Thursday.
No. 5 Alabama 1, No. 4 Mississippi State 1
Bulldogs win in PKs 2-0
The second match of the tournament to conclude in penalties went the way of the Bulldogs.
With the Crimson Tide going first in the shootout, Mississippi State got the early advantage when Maddy Anderson guessed correctly a Felicia Know shot, as the senior goalkeeper from Seabrook, Texas made a diving save to her right. The higher seed got the early lead when Altana Martinez-Montoya beat Coralie Lallier to go up 1-0.
Alabama missed its next two attempts before Kennedy White put the Bulldogs on the brink with a make to push it to 2-0. Finally, when a Gianna Paul attempt went wide right, Mississippi State sprinted onto the pitch to celebrate.
The victors scored in the second half after the Crimson Tide opened the scoring in the first half.
In the 24th minute, a free kick from Marianna Annest bounced off the crossbar, but the rebound was knocked around the box and booted in Brooke Steere.
Despite owning a 10-2 advantage in shots and a 3-0 lead in corner kicks in the first half
Mississippi State didn’t equalize until the help of VAR in the 55th minute. A penalty shot was awarded after officials checked and confirmed a handball in the box. Martinez-Montoya buried the ensuing penalty to tie the game.
The two teams failed to score over the next 55 minutes despite Alabama having a 20-8 advantage in shots. Anderson was magnificent in goal, finishing with eight saves.
Thursday's Matchups
No. 1 Arkansas vs. No. 4. Mississippi State 7:30 p.m.
No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 6 Texas A&M, 5 p.m.
WANT TO GO?
WHAT: 2023 SEC Women’s Soccer Tournament
WHERE: Ashton Brosnaham Soccer Complex (Escambia County Stadium Field).
ADMISSION: $12 general admission (includes both games in a session), $7 for children ages 5-12, students (high school or college ID) or military. Children 4-under are free. The championship game tickets on Nov. 5 are $17 for adults, $12 for children, students military. Tournament pass is $40.
PARKING: Free in areas that front the stadium entrance
TV: SEC Network
FANFEST: Nov. 5 from 11 a.m. to halftime of championship game.
TOURNAMENT INFO: www.pensacolasports.org and www.secsports.com/soccer.
Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at (772) 985-9692, on X at @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: SEC Women's Soccer Tournament: Scores and results from quarterfinal round
