Three first-half goals by No. 3 Florida State were more than
enough as the visiting Seminoles downed No. 8 Florida, 3-0, Friday
evening before 4,279 fans at Pressly Stadium — the fifth-largest home
crowd in program history.
The win improved FSU to 3-0, while UF slipped to 2-1.
“You don’t come here and win 3-0 without being a good team,” UF coach Becky Burleigh said. “But I think in the second half, I was really proud of our team’s fight and our desire to get back into it, regardless of the fact that we did not. Some of the things that came out of this game are going to really help us down the road.”
The huge crowd saw the rivals battle to a scoreless tie through the first 26:30 of the match before FSU broke on top with a pair of goals from junior forward Dagny Brynjarsdottir a little more than two minutes apart.
Freshman forward Savannah Jordan, who had scored five goals in her first two matches, had a couple of chances in the last 10 minutes of the half to put UF on the board but was stymied, and when the ‘Noles converted a Gator giveaway into a 3-0 lead with a less than a minute until intermission on a 25-yard blast by sophomore Michaela Hahn, they were in control.
Junior Taylor Burke took over in goal for UF freshman Nora Neset Gjoen in the second half and came up with a couple of solid saves, but the Gators could get nothing past Seminole senior goalie Kelsey Wys, who recorded four saves and her second shutout in three games.
“I think we came out in the second half and played like it was 0-0,” junior midfielder Annie Speese said. “For the majority of the half we played in their half. We kept fighting and we didn’t give up until the very last minute, and I think that says a lot about our team.”
Four of the five all-time crowds at Pressly Stadium have now come in the UF-FSU series.
The Gators will try and get back in the win column Sunday when they travel to Miami to take on FIU at 7 p.m.
“You don’t come here and win 3-0 without being a good team,” UF coach Becky Burleigh said. “But I think in the second half, I was really proud of our team’s fight and our desire to get back into it, regardless of the fact that we did not. Some of the things that came out of this game are going to really help us down the road.”
The huge crowd saw the rivals battle to a scoreless tie through the first 26:30 of the match before FSU broke on top with a pair of goals from junior forward Dagny Brynjarsdottir a little more than two minutes apart.
Freshman forward Savannah Jordan, who had scored five goals in her first two matches, had a couple of chances in the last 10 minutes of the half to put UF on the board but was stymied, and when the ‘Noles converted a Gator giveaway into a 3-0 lead with a less than a minute until intermission on a 25-yard blast by sophomore Michaela Hahn, they were in control.
Junior Taylor Burke took over in goal for UF freshman Nora Neset Gjoen in the second half and came up with a couple of solid saves, but the Gators could get nothing past Seminole senior goalie Kelsey Wys, who recorded four saves and her second shutout in three games.
“I think we came out in the second half and played like it was 0-0,” junior midfielder Annie Speese said. “For the majority of the half we played in their half. We kept fighting and we didn’t give up until the very last minute, and I think that says a lot about our team.”
Four of the five all-time crowds at Pressly Stadium have now come in the UF-FSU series.
The Gators will try and get back in the win column Sunday when they travel to Miami to take on FIU at 7 p.m.
