The No. 2 South Carolina women’s soccer team clinched its third SEC Tournament title in a 1-0 victory over No. 1 Alabama on Sunday afternoon in Pensacola, Florida.
In a matchup between the top two seeds in the tournament, the Gamecocks prevailed after a second-half goal and defensive resilience over the final 30 minutes of the match preserved its lead.
Most of the game’s early first half action took place in the midfield, but the two sides exchanged dangerous opportunities midway through the period. Alabama graduate forward Riley Mattingly Parker had a chance to give her team the lead in the 15th minute, but her shot went just wide of the goal. Four minutes later, junior midfielder Brianna Behm had a one-on-one opportunity with graduate goalkeeper McKinley Crone that was cleared by a sliding Crimson Tide defender.
Offensive momentum started to swing in Alabama’s favor as the first half drew to a close, and it held a 5-4 shot advantage (including the lone shot on goal) into the halftime break. The Gamecocks sustained attacks deep in the Crimson Tide’s defensive territory that led to two corner kicks, but many of its efforts were denied by offsides calls three times.
Alabama started the second half where it left off in the first and registered three shots in the opening 11 minutes, two of which were saved by senior goalkeeper Heather Hinz.
Despite the Crimson Tide’s push to open the scoring, South Carolina would find its breakthrough against the run of play only one minute later. Junior forward Catherine Barry flicked a header from a throw-in towards Behm, who was able to poke the ball into the back of the net from close range for her first goal of the season.
South Carolina would have multiple opportunities to double their lead, but both chances — a free kick by fifth-year defender Jyllisa Harris and a header by Barry — were denied by Crone and the crossbar, respectively.
After earning the lead, the Gamecocks were forced to exert more effort on the defensive side of the ball as Alabama continued to press for an equalizer. Hinz and the South Carolina back line demonstrated its composure and quality under immense pressure from the Crimson Tide forwards, most notably in a series of plays late in the game that would seal the victory.
Alabama launched one last attack towards South Carolina’s goal with two minutes remaining and forced Hinz to make three saves in quick succession, including a header by graduate forward Ashlynn Serepca from close range. The Gamecock defense parried each of their attempts away until the final whistle was blown, prompting joyous celebrations as the players on the South Carolina sideline ran onto the field with their teammates.
Hinz, who finished the match with six saves, would be named the SEC Tournament MVP during the trophy presentation after registering two clean sheets, making 11 saves (along with an additional two saves in a penalty shootout against Georgia in the semifinals) and allowing one goal over three games. Four South Carolina players — Hinz, Barry, Harris and redshirt senior midfielder Samantha Chang — were also named to the 2022 SEC All-Tournament Team.
With the victory, the Gamecocks clinched an automatic berth to the 2022 NCAA women’s soccer tournament. The team will learn their first-round opponent during the tournament’s selection show on Monday, Nov. 7 at 4 p.m.
Editor's Note: Camryn Dixon is the assistant sports editor of The Daily Gamecock.