Florida and Florida International saw yellow Sunday night.
Down by several goals on their home field, the Panthers came out fighting in the second half of their 4-0 loss to the No. 8 Gators.
Despite FIU’s rough play, UF never relented as each side collected fouls and yellow cards.
The two teams combined for 31 fouls — including seven yellow cards.
The Gators collected three yellow cards — one each on center back Christen Westphal, defender Haley Reeb and goalkeeper Taylor Burke.
The yellows given out to Florida sparked a fire in coach Becky Burleigh, who is generally regarded as having a calm demeanor. Despite the unruly nature of the game, she took pride in the fact that her team did not falter against the Panthers’ physicality.
“Late in the game, when it got a little chippy, I liked the presence our team brought,” Burleigh said. “They weren’t going to back down from anything. The game dictated that we step up and be a little physical and we did just that.”
The two teams’ seventh meeting proved to be the most physical.
The last time the in-state rivals met was during the 2012 regular season, when one yellow card was issued to FIU’s Nikki Rios.
The Gators recorded five fouls on the night — 13 fewer than Sunday’s total. This year’s meeting was the only time Florida collected more fouls than FIU.
Despite the hostility in the game, Florida’s win improved the Gators to 7-0 in its all-time series against the Panthers.
Freshman Pamela Begic, who scored one of Florida’s four goals and recorded an assist, said despite the animosity against them, the Gators stuck together to pull out the win.
“We were talking about improving our execution and we really put our minds toward that goal,” Begic said.
“I think we succeeded as a team.”
Follow Michelle Provenzano on Twitter @mmprovenzano.
Freshman midfielder Christen Westphal pushes the ball against the defense of Florida International University in a 3-0 victory on Sept. 2, 2012.
