It has become increasingly clear this season why Florida’s Erika Tymrak and Auburn midfielder Katy Frierson were the Southeastern Conference’s lone representatives on the U.S. U23 national team this summer.
Both, in their own way, have been nearly unstoppable for their teams.
“Some people say we have similar traits,” Tymrak said. “We’re both very technical, but at the same time, we’re different. … She’s more of a playmaker I feel like. I tend to dribble more and go at people.”
Almost midway through the SEC table, Tymrak is tied for a league-best nine goals — a career high — with four assists. Frierson, a senior, is the SEC assists leader with nine dimes on the year and three goals.
In the pursuit of slowing down Tymrak’s average of 1.69 points per game, most teams have resorted to levying a steady stream of fouls on the midfielder. While at times the cheap shots and rough play have frustrated her, Tymrak has kept her cool.
“If somebody tries to foul me, I try to shy away from the play a little bit, maybe play 1-2 touch and when they’re not expecting it, go after them again,” she said.
With Frierson and Auburn coming to Gainesville this Friday, Tymrak will likely see more of the same looks from the opposition.
The Tigers have an SEC-worst 163 fouls on the season, an average of 13.58 a game. Their 13 yellow cards through 12 matches are also a league-high.
Florida, on the other hand, rarely gets into the kind of foul trouble as Auburn, with 38 fewer fouls on the year and only three yellows. The Gators’ strategy to prevent Frierson from distributing to her teammates will have to come another way.
“You can watch film on a team all you want, but unless you have the ability to shut that player down, they can be unpredictable,” Tymrak said. “My coach always likes to compare it to (Barcelona striker Lionel) Messi. The defenders know what he’s going to do, but he still gets by the person.”
Redshirt junior defender Kat Williamson pointed to the back line’s ability to regularly pressure deep into the other team’s half as a way to simply keep possession away from top-flight players like Frierson.
Last Sunday against Kentucky, Williamson and the defense used the same strategy to hold the Wildcats’ leading scorer, Kelsey Hunyadi, without a point after she scored two goals and two assists in her previous two games.
“We make it hard for players to zip the ball through us in order to find channels to score in,” Williamson said. “As a team, not only the back line, we did a really good job closing them quickly so they don’t get chances.”
With a chance to move past Auburn into sole possession of second place in the SEC, UF coach Becky Burleigh said the team also has the advantage of not having to travel for both Friday’s match and an Oct. 23 tilt against league-leader LSU.
The Gators haven’t lost at home in conference play since 2006, and they must keep Frierson in check to extend that streak.
“They’ve got one of the best players in the league in Katy,” Burleigh said.
“We respect the heck out of her, and they’ve always played well against us. I don’t remember very many easy games against Auburn.”
Contact John Boothe at jboothe@alligator.org
UF midfielder Erika Tymrak and Auburn’s Katy Frierson were the SEC’s lone representatives on the U.S. U23 national team this summer.
