Following a 13-7 win against High Point, coach Amanda O’Leary pointed out a statistic Florida should note.
She did not point out that the Gators had posted their first 3-0 start in program history. She also didn’t mention that UF had just ended a three-game road trip.
O’Leary did point out that in all three games, Florida allowed its opponent to score first.
The No. 3 Gators (3-0) have fallen victim to slow starts in all three contests in 2013.
“Obviously, it’s not the way we want to start a game,” O’Leary said. “You always want to start off with the first goal on the board, but it hasn’t hurt us up to this point.”
Dating back to March 2012, Florida is 6-0 when allowing the opposing team to grab the first goal. Though the undefeated mark is encouraging, O’Leary does not want slow starts to continue to be a trend.
“When we step out onto that field, we have to be ready to play,” O’Leary said after defeating High Point. “It is a concern because you don’t want that momentum to shift at the beginning of the game.”
Senior attacker Kitty Cullen has helped swing the momentum back in the Gators’ favor in each contest this season.
Cullen has scored Florida’s first goal in all three matches, helping dig her club out of 1-0 holes twice and a 3-0 deficit against North Carolina on Feb. 9 in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Cullen’s five goals are tied for second on the team.
“She knows when a team scores we need to rebound back,” O’Leary said, “And she takes it upon herself to be that person.”
Cullen is the career leader in goals scored at UF with 153.
“Throughout her years here at Florida, she’s willing to put her head down and get that first goal,” O’Leary said. “That’s just her mentality.”
With No. 19 Stony Brook ahead on Wednesday, O’Leary joked that seeing the same result that happened in the early matches so far wouldn’t be too bad.
“We’ve won three games with giving up the first goal,” O’Leary said. “So we might try to give up the first goal in the next couple and see how that works.”
Kitty Cullen attempts a shot during Florida's 14-7 win against Northwestern on May 5 at Dizney Stadium.
