The Gators are hoping for more of the same tonight, and that is something they would not have said two days ago.
No. 23 Florida (15-6, 7-4 Southeastern Conference) will look to build on its opening-round win against Georgia as it takes on Alabama (10-7-3, 4-5-2 SEC) at the Orange Beach SportsPlex in Orange Beach, Ala., tonight in its 16th SEC Tournament semifinals appearance.
Prior to the tournament, the Gators were mired in one of their worst stretches of conference play ever. Losses to LSU and South Carolina to end the regular season were the first back-to-back home SEC defeats in the program’s history.
The most glaring issue for Florida down the stretch in the regular season was a tendency to fall behind after giving up early goals. The Gators trailed 1-0 in seven of 11 regular-season SEC games and gave up goals in the first five minutes in three of their last four.
Florida fell behind 1-0 against Alabama on Oct. 9, a game which the Gators went on to win 4-1. But coach Becky Burleigh said there won’t be the same margin for error tonight against the Crimson Tide.
“Ideally, we would like to not give up any goals, play from the sides going forward and get ahead early,” Burleigh said. “That’s the key for us. Not giving up an early goal was a big psychological lift for us, and so that would be the same strategy we would try to employ on Friday.”
Florida finished with eight shots on goal Wednesday after having just six total on frame in the prior two games. Burleigh attributed the improved offensive efficiency to an increased focus on pushing the ball up the field from the back line.
The results showed on the go-ahead goal against Georgia when keeper Taylor Burke played a long ball that midfielder Holly King headed to senior forward Tahnai Annis. Annis shot it past the right of the Bulldogs’ keeper for the first of her two goals on the night.
“It takes a lot less out of you, emotionally,” Annis said of playing with the lead.
She believes the Gators’ success lies in their ability to continue to get out to the quick starts and limit the opposition’s scoring chances.
“We just need to keep doing what we did [against Georgia],” Annis said. “We can’t back off. If we back off its when we let teams back into the game, so I think if we keep rolling with this momentum we’ll be fine.”
Florida forward Tahnai Annis said the Gators are at an advantage when scoring first, as they did against Georgia on Wednesday.
