The golden goal came in the last minute.
Senior Meggie Dougherty Howard sent a shot toward senior Brooke Sharp, who headed the ball over the hands of Arkansas’ goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
With that goal, No. 15 Florida repeated as Southeastern Conference Tournament Champions, defeating No. 19 Arkansas 2-1 in overtime on Sunday in Orange Beach, Alabama.
Florida hadn't won back-to-back conference titles since it won six-consecutive conference tournaments from 1996 to 2001.
“We knew we had it in us to get this win,” Dougherty Howard said in a release. “We stuck with our gameplan and really fought for each other out there.”
The win marked the Gators' 12th SEC Tournament title — a league high — and their fourth title in the last seven tournaments.
But the road to the tournament trophy didn’t come easy.
In the quarterfinals, the Gators needed penalty kicks to advance past Missouri.
In the semifinals, Florida shut out undefeated No. 2 South Carolina, even after a late run by SEC Offensive Player of the Year Savannah McCaskill, handing the Gamecocks their first loss of the season.
So it wasn’t surprising UF needed another dramatic finish in the finals to become back-to-back SEC Tournament Champions.
“It was physical, tight, emotional,” coach Becky Burleigh said in a release. “Everything about it was not easy and that’s exactly what we need.”
The Gators held the lead for more than 50 minutes after a goal from senior forward Savannah Jordan, but in the 79th minute, Arkansas forward Alexandria Fischer tied the game at 1 after Florida goalkeeper Kaylan Marckese stepped off her line.
With time expiring in regulation, the Gators had one more chance to avoid overtime when Mayra Pelayo took a shot.
She missed the net by inches.
So, for the second time in three games, Florida’s opponent forced the Gators into overtime.
In the first nine minutes of extra time, both teams had chances to end the game, with Florida giving up a corner kick five minutes in and Pelayo getting another good look that went just wide of the net.
But just as a second overtime period looked inevitable, Dougherty Howard made a late run down the left side of the field and found Sharp open in front of the net.
“When I saw her go out wide, I just sprinted into the box and she played an awesome ball,” said Sharp, who scored just her second goal of the season, in a release.
The title wouldn’t have been possible if not for Jordan’s first-half offense.
In the 29th minute, Jordan put in her 80th career goal and 15th of the season off assists from Melanie Monteagudo and Julia Lester.
Jordan also had a team-high three shots, with two on goal.
With the win, the Gators also avenged a 2-1 loss to the Razorbacks on Sept. 16.
“I’m really happy with our whole team performance. It was definitely an effort on all ends,” Dougherty Howard said. “We fought hard until the end.”
Next, Florida turns its attention to the NCAA Tournament and its seeding, which will be released Monday.
In 2015, the Gators advanced to the Sweet 16 before being eliminated by Duke.
“It was a tough tournament. There’s no question,” Burleigh said.
“We don’t want it to be easy because this is the preparation we need going into NCAAs.”
Contact Lauren Staff at lstaff@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @lstaff27.
Florida celebrates its 2-1 overtime win in the 2016 Southeastern Conference Tournament championship match in Orange Beach, Alabama.
