The last time Florida State loss at the Seminole Soccer Complex in Tallahassee was back in 2011.
Florida changed that on Friday.
The No. 8 Gators (4-1) upset the No. 2 Seminoles (4-1) 2-1, recording their first victory over FSU in four years.
Florida flourished in the first half with two back-to-back unanswered goals to snap Florida State’s 38 game home-unbeaten streak and hand the Seminoles their first loss of the season.
“The seniors in particular were really excited about the win,” coach Becky Burleigh said. “This is a great rivalry because we really test each other a lot and it’s one of those rivalries that you look forward to because it’s about playing great soccer. Both teams played great soccer tonight and we were really excited to come out on the winning side of it.”
The Gators applied consistent pressure in the first half going on the attack first.
In the 25th minute sophomore midfielder Pamela Begic scored from inside FSU’s box coming off an assist by Tessa Andujar to hand Florida an early 1-0 lead.
The Gators did not stop there.
About 10 minutes later, midfielder Betsy Middleton blasted the ball that was assisted by Begic pass Seminoles goalkeeper Cassie Miller from 20 yards out to add an insured 2-0 lead.
Desperate to not dig themselves in a deeper deficit, the Seminoles added a goal on the scoreboard with just under two minutes to play in the first half.
Icelandic native Dagny Brynjardottir headed in a free kick off an entry pass that sailed to the left side of the goal pass Florida’s Taylor Burke’s stretched body to trim the lead to 2-1.
Florida adjusted its gameplay in the second half.
Less constant offensive pressure at the net and more counter attacking mixed with relentless defense held off FSU from its countless threats for an equalizer.
“We did a good job of screening balls,” Burleigh said. “We were intercepting their passes opposed to tackling, and that is something we did intentionally.”
Burke tallied five saves in total including a crucial save in the final minutes of the game when FSU’s Berglind Thorvaldsdottir headed the ball in front of Burke, which was denied.
Florida negated any other chance for Florida State to stay unbeaten in the season in front of the second-largest crowd in history of 3,569.
This is the Seminoles first time trailing in a game this season as the Gators have now won their second road game of the six-match trip.
The series remains closely contested, as eight of the last nine matches have been decided by one goal.
Florida also registered its first victory against a ranked opponent this season and avenged its 3-0 defeat from last season.
“One game doesn’t define our season,” Burleigh said. “Certainly we are really excited about the win and we’re going to enjoy the win, but we have a lot of work to do just based off this game. When you’re playing quality opponents like this it really points out what you need to work on and I think that will help us in the big picture.”
Follow Lawrence Laguna on Twitter @LagunaLawrence
Sophomore midfielder Pamela Begic runs downfield during Florida's 3-0 win against Miami on Aug. 22 at James G. Pressly Stadium.
