Oct. 7, 2013

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Taylor Leach from the women’s soccer team has been named AgSouth Athlete of the Week.

The redshirt junior scored the game-winning goal on a header off a corner kick in the 109th minute at No. 8 Florida on Friday night to give the Gamecocks the 2-1 victory. With the win, South Carolina became the first school in SEC history to win consecutive games in Gainesville, Fla., after defeating the Gators 2-1 in regulation in 2011.

The center back was crucial on the back line in both weekend matchups as she was the primary marker for one of the top scorers in the country in Florida freshman Savannah Jordan while drawing the assignment of shutting down Tennessee’s New Zealand national team player Hannah Wilkinson two days later en route to a 1-0 win in overtime.

Leach also garnered SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors this week as well.