The mounting fouls were frustrating and the late missed chances proved heart-breaking, but the Gators didn’t blame either for failing to play a complete game against a top-10 team.
On Friday, No. 9 Florida (4-2) woke up too late from an anemic offensive performance in the first half against No. 5 Florida State (6-1), as it fell 3-2 in front of the third largest crowd in Pressly Stadium’s history.
“We did not adjust quickly enough to the tempo of the game; it was a very high-paced game,” UF coach Becky Burleigh said. “The lesson we learned from that is we have to come out ready to play at that speed and tempo and not take a half to get into it.”
With a quick-triggered offense and a speedy attack, the Seminoles would shock the home squad just four minutes into the game, when an 18-yard strike from Dagny Brynjarsdottir blew past freshman goalie Taylor Burke for an early 1-0 lead.
Following the goal, FSU maintained an aggressive, high-line with its defenders and fouled nine times in the half, preventing the Gators from tallying their first shot by junior Erika Tymrak until the 33rd minute.
“It’s a little frustrating when obviously fouling No. 17 (Tymrak) is a popular thing to do,” Burleigh said. “But the referee handled it, he gave out a couple cards which was very warranted. We’re going to face that all year; we faced it all last year too.”
With just 25 seconds left until the break, Tymrak – who had both of UF’s first half shots – evened the game off a short pass and shot from a Florida corner. The midfielder weaved her way past two defenders at the top of the box, before burying a 10-yarder into the top left corner of the net.
“We have a mentality where we try to play quicker and get the ball on the ground and just play it,” Tymrak said. “I think we’re a lot more effective when we play it around opposed to kicking it long.”
The Gators looked invigorated at the start of the new half but, again, were forced play from behind when Seminoles forward Tiffany McCarty (2 goals, 1 assist) slipped behind the back line and scored an easy three-on-one opportunity in the 55th minute.
After Florida answered 12 minutes later off a corner kick flick-in from junior Holly King, the blistering McCarty would burn UF’s defense for a second time with the 72nd minute, game-winning score in transition from six yards out.
“Those three goals, they were three let downs that shouldn’t have happened,” said King, who scored her first goal of the season. “It’s pretty much our intensity for 90 minutes and we have to work on that.”
In a last-ditch move to spur on the offense, freshman forward Havana Solaun was put almost immediately by Burleigh and nearly hit the tying score with under three minutes left in the game. Her shot deep inside the box along the left side glanced off FSU’s goalie and into the top netting.
“I thought the last 15 to 25 minutes they were on the ropes,” Burleigh said. “We were all over them. Unlucky to not score at the end; I think the keeper might have touched that ball that Havana hit. It was a great save, but that was some quality soccer.”
With their second loss to a ranked opponent, the Gators will look to regroup Sunday at 2 p.m. against Florida Gulf Coast (5-2) in Pressly Stadium.
Contact John Boothe at jboothe@alligator.org
