Arkansas Shuts Out Florida, 1-0, to Advance to SEC Tournament Quarterfinals

PENSACOLA, Fla. – No. 5 seed Arkansas women’s soccer (8-4-4) took down No. 12 seed Florida (6-7-5), 1-0, in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Sunday night at Ashton Brosnaham Soccer Complex in Pensacola, Florida.

Freshman forward Ivy Harding scored the winner with seven seconds left in the first half on a direct free kick from just outside the 18-yard box.

The Hogs will face 4-seed Kentucky in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. The two teams met on Nov. 1 in the regular season finale in Lexington, where the Wildcats won 3-0.

Arkansas and Kentucky have not met in the SEC Tournament since 1994, when the event was held in Fayetteville.

How it Happened

Florida had the match’s first chance in the 9th minute, a shot by forward Addy Hess that forced Arkansas goalkeeper Keegan Smith to make a diving save.

The Gators added two more shots on frame in the opening 15 minutes before the Razorbacks had their first chance in the 16th minute, a corner kick that junior forward Kyndal Ewertz headed wide left.

Florida led in shots, 4-1, at the 30-minute mark.

Arkansas had an onslaught of chances from the 32nd to 33rd minutes, with a free kick and two corners that led to three saves, two by Florida goalkeeper Paloma Pena and one by a defender. Defenders Aniyah Nurse-Whyte and Bella Field and midfielder Natalie Wagner had the attempts.

Senior midfielder Avery Wren drew a foul just outside the 18-yard box with nine seconds remaining in the half and earned Arkansas its first dangerous free kick opportunity of the night.

Either Harding or Nurse-Whyte was going to take the kick, but Nurse-Whyte faked her run-up to the ball, causing Florida’s wall of defenders to break apart and allow Harding’s low left-footed shot under the wall and ultimately past Pena.

Arkansas pulled ahead with six unanswered shots over the final 10 minutes of the half and finished ahead, 7-4. Smith and Pena made three saves each.

Only three shots were taken in the opening 20 minutes of the second half, all off target and all by Florida.

The Hogs nearly found insurance in the 74th minute through freshman forward MacKenzie Gwin, who scored the last-second game-winner against the Gators in October, but her powerful shot deflected off the crossbar.

Florida scrambled in the final minutes with an unsuccessful corner kick that saw Pena playing near Arkansas’ penalty box, and a pair of shots that were off target.

Neither goalkeeper made a save in the second half. Florida finished ahead in shots, 11-10, and Arkansas won the corner kick battle 7-4.

Game Notes

• Smith added her 16th career shutout, which ranks fifth in Arkansas program history.
• The Hogs improved to 8-2-0 over the last 10 meetings with the Gators.
• Arkansas will make its 11th straight quarterfinals appearance on Tuesday against Kentucky.
• The Razorbacks received first-round byes in each of the last 10 tournaments before this year’s, after losing the top-four tiebreaker after the loss to Kentucky last week.

For more information on Arkansas women’s soccer, follow @RazorbackSoccer on social media.