Despite a rain delay of more than an hour, Florida came to play, capping off its regular season with a 6-1 victory against Vanderbilt Thursday night at James G. Pressly Stadium.
The Gators didn’t let the sloppy field conditions slow down their precision-passing offense, which looked as dangerous as it has all season. Six different Gators scored, including sophomore midfielder Meggie Dougherty Howard, who scored for the first time this season and became Florida’s 13th different scorer of the year.
“I think that’s really great when we can get a bunch of different people to score,” Dougherty Howard said, “‘cause it really shows that it’s a whole team effort and different people are being rewarded who maybe don’t necessarily get the focus different games.”
The balanced attack from Florida was carried out from start to finish.
The Gators scored their first goal in the fifth minute, when sophomore midfielder Pamela Begic spectacularly re-directed a ball past the Commodore goalkeeper with her back heel. It was the second goal of the year for Begic, who started Thursday night for the first time since Sept. 19.
“It was pretty great, I’m not gonna lie,” Begic said about scoring so early. “We sometimes get scored on in the first five minutes, so it feels good to be on the other side.”
After Dougherty Howard scored the second goal of the game in the 33rd minute, Vanderbilt cut the lead to one with a goal from sophomore forward Simone Charley. But Florida answered right back with an unassisted goal from senior defender Lauren Silver in the 42nd minute, giving the Gators a 3-1 lead which they would take to the half.
The floodgates opened in the second half when sophomore forward Savannah Jordan scored her team-leading 15th goal to give Florida a 4-1 lead in the 53rd minute. It was the eighth match in the last 10 where Jordan has scored.
Senior midfielder Havana Solaun added her sixth goal of the year only three minutes later, and Florida played mostly substitutes for the remainder of the game.
Sophomore midfielder Liz Slattery ended the match with a cracking strike from the top of the penalty box in the 90th minute, her third of the season, giving the Gators the 6-1 victory.
“Again, I think another great team effort, just like Sunday,” coach Becky Burleigh said of the match. “We got good contributions from a lot of different people, and I think again we got to showcase our depth.”
Although Florida won, Texas A&M also won Thursday night, meaning Florida finished second in the conference and will be the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament, which begins Monday.
Follow Graham Hack on Twitter @Graham_Hack24
Meggie Dougherty Howard attempts to get the ball from a Vanderbilt player during UF's 6-1 win on Thursday.
