The Gators’ match against the Razorbacks turned into a tale of two halves.
Florida shut out Arkansas in the first half and executed well on the defensive end. The defensive showing was just the fifth time in 14 games the Razorbacks had been shut out in a half this season. Despite getting three shots in the first 10 minutes, the Gators did not break through in the first half.
The Florida Gators (5-5-4, 1-4-2 SEC) fell to the No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks (10-3-1, 6-1 SEC) Thursday night in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Gators failed to get anything going on the offensive end in the second half and played on their heels for most of the match.
Florida freshman forward Megan Hinnenkamp broke loose early but failed to get the shot off through the Arkansas defense.
In the ninth minute, Razorbacks junior forward Sophia Aragon sent a shot on net off a corner-kick rebound that was saved by the Gators team in the box.
Florida senior goalkeeper Alexa Goldberg caught a crossing pass to prevent an Arkansas scoring opportunity.
Graduate Razorbacks midfielder Bea Franklin placed a shot just over the crossbar that trickled out of bounds. Franklin sent another shot toward the net, but Goldberg came up with the save.
In the 39th minute, Florida earned a corner kick that was sent wide and out of bounds.
Arkansas won the possession battle in the first half, but the Gators’ defense held strong and took a scoreless tie into halftime. Florida’s game plan kept five defenders in the back, which proved to be effective in slowing down the Razorback scoring push.
Aragon scored the first goal of the game off a rebound Goldberg couldn’t reach in the first minute of the second half.
Razorbacks senior forward Ava Tankersley sent a shot in the box that Aragon almost put in the net. The Gators’ defense managed to deflect the ball out of bounds.
In the 59th minute, Arkansas graduate forward Morgan White narrowly missed a shot wide of the left post.
Freshman Razorbacks forward Sabrina Jones scored her first collegiate goal in the 66th minute to put Arkansas up 2-0.
Tankersley redirected a centering pass past Goldberg to give the Razorbacks a three-goal lead late.
In the 88th minute, Florida freshman forward Amelia Malkin almost scored the Gators’ first goal of the game but was stopped by Arkansas junior goalkeeper Sierra Cota-Yarde.
Florida traded possession with Arkansas down the stretch and fell 3-0 to the Razorbacks.
The Gators will next play at Donald R. Dizney Stadium against Auburn at 6 p.m. Thursday. The game will be streamed on SEC+.
Contact Austin Stirling at astirling@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @austinstirlingg.
Austin Stirling is a third-year journalism major and sports reporter for The Alligator. He previously covered Gators women's basketball and is primarily covering soccer during the fall 2023 semester. He is a huge New York sports fan and is hoping the Jets can be a respectable football team for once in his life this season.
