Two days after experiencing their first loss of the season, the Gators took the field for the first time ever in Stillwater, Oklahoma, determined to return home with a victory.
No. 6 Florida (3-1) displayed their dominance on Sunday as they rolled to a 4-0 win over unranked Oklahoma State (0-4) and received goal contributions from four different players.
“We just talked a lot after the loss about the only way we can forge resilience is through adversity,” coach Becky Burleigh said. “What we were looking for was our response.”
Their response was nothing but positive.
Florida’s play on Sunday can be described with one word: confident. The Gators looked to attack early, which they did when senior midfielder Havana Solaun scored her first goal of the season in only the third minute of the game.
From that early goal throughout the rest of the first half, Florida’s defense held strong and gave up only one shot to the Cowgirls, whose sophomore forward, Courtney Dike, just recently played for Nigeria in the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup where her team lost the final match to Germany.
“That’s not an easy game to play because Oklahoma State relies so much on the counter and I thought our backs did a good job of being on their toes,” Burleigh said. “We did a good job of playing team defense to keep them off the scoreboard.”
When the second half started, the Gators had a new goalkeeper in the game, as Valerie Tysinger replaced Taylor Burke, a decision that Burleigh said was based solely on the depth of the position.
The Gators really put the game away later in the second half. Sophomore forward Savannah Jordan put in her third goal of the year in the 74th minute off of an assist from Tessa Andujar, her second of the game, making it the first double-assist match of her career.
Junior Brooke Smith then scored her first career goal in the 87th minute when she and sophomore Brooke Sharp executed a perfect give-and-go pass just in front of the net. Only a few minutes later, in the 90th minute, Sharp then scored a goal of her own, her first of the year.
The late burst of energy from Florida can be credited to their deep and talented roster. Neither Smith nor Sharp have yet to start a game this year, but when their numbers are called, they are more than capable of helping their team.
“My play of the game was the Brooke Sharp to Brooke Smith goal, it was really unselfish and it was a great play,” Burleigh said. “I think that our depth kind of wore Oklahoma State down a little bit.”
Follow Alex Maminakis on Twitter @alexmaminakis
Brooke Smith kicks a corner kick during Florida's 2-0 win against South Florida at Donald R. Dizney Stadium. Smith was one of four Gators to score a goal in Florida's 4-0 win against Oklahoma State on Sunday.
