The No. 18 University of Florida soccer team (13-5-1, 8-2-1 SEC) fell 2-1 to Auburn (7-11, 5-6 SEC) Thursday afternoon in the opening round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament held at Orange Beach Soccer Complex. The loss ends Florida’s nine-year stretch of SEC Soccer Tournament final appearances, as UF claimed the title from 1996-01 and in 2004. Auburn now will meet Kentucky in Friday’s semifinal round. UK upset No. 2 seed Mississippi 3-2 in overtime in the opening match of the tournament.

Florida struck early Wednesday when Rie Sawai played a through ball into the box. Sophomore KeLeigh Hudson ran onto the ball and made a sliding touch on the ball. Her outstretched foot just tapped the ball into the far post corner of the goal at 5:48. Hudson now leads UF this season with six goals.

But the Tigers turned in the equalizer at 29:56 when Jenny Zarzour sent the ball over the top of the Gator backline. Kristin Stewart put the ball in the center of the goal from 10 yards.

In the second half, Auburn took full advantage of its first corner kick of the match. Courtney Crandell served up the corner, which bounced in the box at the far post. Ronda Brooks hit the one-timer into the goal to give the Tigers the 2-1 lead at 72:49.

Florida had its chances to score again – especially in the opening half. In the 22^nd minute, KeLeigh Hudson took a 20-yard blast that was saved by AU goalkeeper Anna Fisher. Four minutes later, Megan Kerns took a shot that was deflected back into the box by Fisher. Jessica Young looked to have a play on the ball at the far post, but was unable to get the shot off. Late in the second half, Katie Green send the ball from the endline to the corner of the box, where Kerns flicked it to the center of the box. Melanie Booth took a strong shot, but Fisher made the stop.

“We had quite a few opportunities in the first half that we didn’t finish. We talked about it at halftime. The game was 1-1 at halftime and it probably should have been 3-1. The longer we let them hang around, the more confidence they got,” UF Head Coach Becky Burleigh said. “Toward the end of the game, we started to panic a bit and were taking ill-advised passes. We didn’t have the composure late in the game.”

The Gators will now await the NCAA Tournament bracket announcement on Monday, Nov. 7 to see if the team is awarded a berth. The bracket will be revealed on ESPNews between 5-5:30 p.m.