No. 6 Florida Soccer Wins 4-0 at Oklahoma State

STILLWATER, Oklahoma – The biggest offensive output of the season gave the University of Florida soccer team a 4-0 win Oklahoma State Sunday afternoon at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex.

 

Florida got goals from four different players Sunday. The quickest Gator goal of the season came at 2:11 whenHavana Solaun scored her first of 2014. After bringing the ball along the endline, senior Tessa Andjuar’s pass found Solaun above the penalty box. Solaun placed the ball in at the far post corner to put the Gators up 1-0.

 

Florida added another goal at 73:42 when Savannah Jordan put in the ball right at the near post, just beating OSU goalkeeper Rosa Medina who was trying to gain control of it. The assist came from Andujar – her second of the afternoon.

 

The final four minutes of play saw each of Florida’s Brookes score a goal. In the 87th minute, sophomore Brooke Sharp broke through the top of the Cowgirls defensive third and brought the ball into the box. Mirroring Sharp’s run through the box was junior Brooke Smith. Sharp’s left pass found Brooke Smith who scored from four yards at 86:42.

 

Then Sharp got a goal of her own with 36 seconds remaining. The pass from Pamela Begic found Sharp, who buried the ball from 21 yards.

 

Gators Stars

  • Three of the goals today were the first of the season for a trio of Gators. Solaun, Brooke Smith and Sharp each turned in their first goal of 2014. For Brooke Smith, it was her first goal as a Gator.
  • For Solaun, it was her third goal versus the Cowgirls. In the first-ever meeting between the two teams last fall in Gainesville, Solaun provided both goals in a 2-0 win.
  • Two Gators combined for the shutout today. Taylor Burke played the opening 45 minutes in goal, registering the save. Redshirt sophomore Valerie Tysinger made her first appearance this season as goalkeeper for UF, turning in three saves.
  • Andujar provided the assist on Florida’s first two goals. It was her first double-assist match of her career.
  • Jordan’s three goals leads the Gators in 2014. She has scored a goal in three of Florida’s four matches this season.

 

2014 Records:

Florida: 3-1, 0-0 SEC

Oklahoma State: 0-4, 0-0 Big 12   BEGIČ

 

The Series:

Florida is now 2-0 versus Oklahoma State. The teams met for the first time in 2013 in Gainesville (UF 2, OSU 0).

 

What Burleigh Said:

What was the team’s focus for today?

“We just talked a lot after the loss about the only way we can forge resilience is through adversity. We had some adversity Friday night and what we were looking for was our response. To come out with a 4-0 win on the road is a good response.” – Florida coach Becky Burleigh

 

How did the Gator defense do today? It was the first appearance in goal this season for Valerie Tysinger.

“That’s not an easy game to play because Oklahoma State relies so much on the counter. I thought our backs did a good job of being on their toes and not really giving them much opportunity to even have a look. When they did try to play it over the top, we caught them off sides so they were playing smart. When the ball was in front of us, we did a good job of playing team defense to keep them off the scoreboard.

 

“We are deep at goalkeeper. I thought Val did a good job.” – Florida coach Becky Burleigh

 

A lot of Gators played today.

“Our depth really played a big role in this game today. Players coming off the bench contributed two of the goals. My play of the game was the Brooke Sharp to Brooke Smith goal. It was really unselfish and it was a great play for Brooke Smith to continue her run and it led to a tap-in for us basically. I think our depth wore Oklahoma State down a little bit.” – Florida coach Becky Burleigh

 

Worth Noting
This was Florida’s first appearance at the Cowgirl Soccer Stadium.

 

Florida turned in its quickest and latest goals of the season today. Solaun’s score at 2:11 replaces goal by Jillian Graff versus Miami at 7:47 as the Gators’ fastest score. Sharp’s goal at 89:24 replaces Annie Speese’s goal last Sunday versus USF at 84:22 as UF latest score.

 

Last year, the Gators scored four or more goals on the road three times – at Florida International (4-0), at Mississippi (4-1) and at Georgia (5-1).

 

Preseason Conference Votes:

Florida shared the 2013 Southeastern Conference title with Texas A&M as each team posted 9-2 league records. OSU took sixth in the Big 12 Conference with its 2-3-3 league record.

Florida – The Gators are picked to win the Southeastern Conference.

OSU – The Cowgirls are picked to finish third in Big 12 play in 2014. West Virginia is the preseason pick to win the Big 12.

 

Rankings:

Florida is ranked No. 8 on the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll.

 

Next up:

Florida will meet No. 2 Florida State in Tallahassee on Friday, Sept. 5. Match time is set for 7 p.m. at the Seminole Soccer Complex. The match will stream live on ESPN3.

 

The Seminoles are 4-0 this season after wins versus Portland (1-0), Minnesota (4-1), Oklahoma State (2-1 2OT) and Oklahoma (1-0).

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.

2 COMMENTS

  1. It’s going to be another great year for Florida athletics! I wish the match on Friday aginst FSU was on tv, but I will definitely tune in online to watch it. Should be a good one. Thanks for volleyball and asoccer updates AS.

    • No problem at all, I’m going to do a better job of getting updates up for all games. I agree that it’s going to be a fun season for Florida.