Less than 48 hours removed from a painful loss to an in-state rival, Florida found the perfect catharsis Sunday in a hapless Florida Gulf Coast squad.
With five different scorers finding the back of the net and a season-high 30 players seeing minutes, the No. 9 Gators (5-2) were able to empty the bench and unload on the Eagles (5-3) to finish their three-game home stand with a 5-0 win.
“The big question in this game was how were we going to bounce back from such an emotional game like Friday (against No. 5 Florida State),” UF coach Becky Burleigh said.
“To come out with four goals in the first half and to dominate the way we did was a really good testament to the leadership on our team.”
After the Gators surrendered a goal less than four minutes into their 3-2 loss to the Seminoles, Burleigh pressured her starters to dictate the pace of the game and score on their early chances against the Eagles.
Forward Tessa Andujar would answer the coach’s call just 7:32 into the contest with a brilliant 10-yard strike from the middle of the box courtesy of an assist from fellow freshman Jillian Graff.
“I saw Jill going down the line, so I decided to drop back and she gave me a great ball,” Andujar said of her second career score. “I just saw the opening to shoot it and was really lucky that it went in.”
The early lead would spark a 13-1 shot onslaught for Florida with three more goals in the first 45 minutes, the first of which came from forward Erika Tymrak in the 16th minute.
That was followed by another score from freshman Lauren Silver eight minutes later. Midfielder Carolyn Triglia then finished a three-on-one opportunity just before the half.
The four-goal advantage would stand until the 58th minute, when midfielder Annie Speese found senior Lindsay Thompson on a through ball from 10 yards out, beating a charging Florida Gulf Coast goalie.
By the 20th minute, the Gators’ deep bench of 21 players could be seen warming up on the sideline and filing into the game as part of 10 first-half substitutions.
As one of the early subs, Speese made an immediate impact with a game-best three assists and one shot taken. Just 43 seconds after entering the fray, the freshman serviced Silver’s goal when she found the defender open along the left wing for an 18-yard score.
“We just wanted to come out and make a statement today,” Speese said.
“The big thing was just not coming out flat after a loss like that, so I think we took care of it.”
With no player on the field longer than 65 minutes, the Gators were also able to freshen the legs of the season-high six starters who played a full 90 minutes against FSU.
Senior defender Kat Williamson also had a noticeable spell on the bench after just 30 minutes of playing time. The NSCAA All-American selection from a year ago had not missed a single minute during Florida’s first six games.
“For them to have a little bit of a rest here in this game is perfect and some of the people who came in behind them did a really good job,” Burleigh said. “We just want to keep the level high from the first player on our team to the last player.”
Florida split time between its goalies, with freshman Taylor Burke playing the opening 45 minutes in her third consecutive start. Senior Brooke Chancey began the second half in relief and was able to maintain the clean sheet for the Gators.
Neither goalie notched a save in the match, as the Eagles managed just three shots on goal.
Contact John Boothe at jboothe@alligator.org
Gators midfielder Annie Speese notched a game-best three assists against Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday.
