Despite what you may have heard, Florida did get a win in Tuscaloosa this past weekend.
The No.7 Gators (6-2, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) beat the Crimson Tide (4-3-1, 0-1 SEC) by a score of 2-1 on Friday night.
It was the SEC opener for both clubs.
This was the first win for Florida at Alabama since 2008, and Coach Becky Burleigh knows it is a tough place to win.
“Well, I think to come out of this game with a win, we haven’t done that in a while here in Alabama,” Coach Becky Burleigh said. “So we’re very happy with that.”
If one were to just read through the stats of this game, they would see that Florida had 20 shots while Alabama only recorded seven, and would think this was an easy win for the Gators. But make no mistake, the Crimson Tide gave the Gators just as good as a battle as the Gators have seen all year.
All three of the game’s goals were scored within four minutes of each other.
Sophomore Liz Slattery gave Florida a 1-0 lead in the 74th minute when a free kick sent from just outside of the 18-yard box was bounced around and put in the back of the net.
It was Slattery’s first goal of the season.
“Christen (Westphal) served a great ball in,” Slattery said. “I got the first touch with my head, it bounced around in the box, and then me and this girl basically kicked it in at the same time. It was a scrappy goal, but they all count the same.”
Senior Lauren Silver also added her first goal of the year for the Gators when her corner kick in the 78th minute went directly into the goal, giving Florida a 2-0 lead. But just seconds later, Alabama responded when senior Laura Lee Smith scored for the Tide on a one-touch finish past goalkeeper Taylor Burke.
That would do it for the goal scoring, and Florida would escape Tuscaloosa with a win to begin its SEC schedule.
Alabama’s tough defense all night made it hard for Florida’s offense to find any sort of groove.
To add, the Tide had quality opportunities to capitalize on offense, including a shot that bounced off of the crossbar, but were only able to score the one goal.
This was, by no means, an easy win for the Gators.
“When they (Alabama) have eleven people behind the ball at all times, it’s difficult. It’s hard to find space,” Burleigh said. “I thought we did some good things to score the two goals that we did.”
Friday’s game in Alabama was the sixth straight away game for Florida, which hasn’t played in Gainesville since August 24, but will have two home games next weekend.
Burleigh said her team is excited to be playing back at home, especially since that means more practice time and less travel time.
“It’s been a long time since we played at home,” Burleigh said, “and I know our team will be very, very excited about that.”
Follow Alex Maminakis on Twitter @AlexMaminakis
Liz Slattery dribbles the ball during Florida's 3-0 win against Miami on Aug. 22 at James G. Pressly Stadium.
