GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 24/RV Alabama women’s soccer fell to No. 6 Florida, 3-0, on Sunday at James G. Pressly Stadium. Alabama (8-3-1) drops to 0-2-1 in conference play while the Gators (8-2, 2-1 SEC) pick up its second SEC win of the year.
“Disappointing result,” head coach Wes Hart said. “We came here trying to take three points away. I felt we played well in the first half. Going into the locker room, we were confident that we could win this game. We had more possessions, territory and chances, but UF came out in the second half with some energy and put us on our heels. The early goals gave them even more lift. I was proud of the way our team kept competing. We must now focus our attention on Tennessee. We can’t let these past few results get us down. We played two top-10 teams very tough on the road.”
After a scoreless first half, Florida tallied two quick goals to start the second and extended its lead to 3-0 in the 76th minute. Although Alabama outshot Florida 10-9, the Gators were able to capitalize on three shots on goal to defeat the Crimson Tide.
Alabama held possession for majority of the first half launching five shots with three on goal. In the first ten minutes of the stanza, Alabama earned two corner kicks and took its first shot towards the frame, but all of the Tide’s attempts were stopped by the Gator keeper.
A few minutes later, the Tide earned another great scoring opportunity when senior Celia Jimenez Delgado drew a one-on-one possession at the top of the box, but her shot was blocked by a Gator defender.
With seven minutes left in the first half, the Gators tried to capitalize off of two free kicks 10 yards outside the box, but its pair of shot attempts were stopped by senior goalkeeper Kat Stratton to keep Florida off the boards and end the half scoreless.
In the second, the Gators charged out of the gates on the attack, scoring two quick goals in the first six minutes to snatch a 2-0 advantage.
The Tide tried to shrink Florida’s lead in the 58th minute with another shot inside the box by Jimenez Delgado, but her attempt was blocked by a Florida defender.
Then in the 76th minute, Florida’s Deanna Rose beat out Alabama’s last defender for the score to extend the Gators’ lead to 3-0.
Alabama tried to rally back into the game with its fourth corner of the match in the 79th minute and five more shots, but their scoring opportunities fell short and Florida ended the conference showdown in shutout fashion.
Junior Abbie Boswell led the Tide in shots with three and one on goal, while Jimenez Delgado and senior Alexis Mouton fired out two shots apiece. Stratton made five saves in 90:00 minutes in the net.
Alabama returns to the pitch on Thursday, Sept. 28 to face No. 21 Tennessee at the Alabama Soccer Complex at 6 p.m. CT. Thursday’s conference match will be broadcast live on SEC Network.
