Florida Gators Soccer advances to the Sweet 16

Special to GC

GAINESVILLE, Florida - The Florida soccer team defeated the California Bears 3-1 in NCAA Second Round play Friday evening in front of a chilly Donald R. Dizney Stadium crowd of 933. The win sends Florida to its 10th NCAA Round of 16 in the program’s 20-year history.

The Gators now advances to play Texas Tech in NCAA Third Round action set for Sunday, Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. at Dizney Stadium. The Red Raiders won 2-1 over Auburn in the Friday’s opening match at the Gainesville site to move ahead to Sunday’s action.

In Friday’s NCAA Second Round action, Florida’s first goal came off Annie Speese’s <http://www.gatorzone.com/soccer/bios.php?year=2014&player_id=87> successfully converted penalty kick at 2:47. The penalty kick was awarded when Savannah Jordan<http://www.gatorzone.com/soccer/bios.php?year=2014&player_id=102> was clipped just inside the box.

Florida pushed the lead to 2-0 in the 13th minute. From just inside the midfield circle, Speese sent a ball right which Jordan ran onto just above the box. She sent a perfectly paced ball through the box which Havana Solaun<http://www.gatorzone.com/soccer/bios.php?year=2014&player_id=86> put a right-footed touch on just before the Cal goalkeeper and a defender got to the ball.

The Bears cut the lead in half just four minutes later. The ball headed by Samantha Witteman hit the far post and Celeste Boureille put in the rebound with her right foot from seven yards.

After a tight second half, the Gators pushed the lead to a two-goal cushion with less than a minute to play. Senior Jillian Graff<http://www.gatorzone.com/soccer/bios.php?year=2014&player_id=81> chased down a ball that was headed out of bounds, won it, hurdled over a Cal defender and then took a touch toward the end line before sending the ball to Jordan at the top of the box. Jordan took the ball left and when the Cal goalkeeper came off her line, put the ball in with her left foot to the far post at 89:05.

Gator Stars
● Speese has turned in a goal in each of the last three matches. With her goal and assist tonight, Speese upped her career points total to 70. That ties her for 12th with Lindsay Thompson (2008-11) on the Gators Career Points chart. It was the 22nd goal of her career, moving her to sole possession of the 17th spot on the Gators Career Goals chart.

● Solaun scored her third goal of the last five matches and has turned in at least a point in each match in that span. It was the 28th goal of her career as she is 11th on Florida’s Career Goals Leaders list.

● Jordan beat the buzzer again, scoring a goal in the final minute for the second consecutive match. In the NCAA Opening Round, Jordan scored the Gators’ latest goal of the season at 89:34. Tonight, her score at 89:05 is the fourth latest Gator goal of 2014. UF now has four scores recorded in the final minute of regulation. It was her 18th goal of the season, which leads the Southeastern Conference and moves her to a tie for seventh among the 2014 nation’s goals leader.

● The goal tonight was the 40th of Jordan’s career. She is one of six Gators all-time with a career goals total of 40 or more.

Team Records:
Florida: 16-4-1, 9-2 SEC
California: 14-6-2, 5-4-2 Pac 12

The Series:
Florida leads the series 2-0. Both meetings (2008, 2014) have come in NCAA action played in Gainesville. The Gators won by a 2-1 score in 2008 first round play.

Notables:
● Florida’s first goal at 2:47 was the second-fastest of the season. Solaun scored the quickest goal of the season at 2:11 at Oklahoma State on Aug. 31.

● Two goals in the first 13 minutes of tonight’s match was quickest two scores for Florida in a match this season.

● Florida advances to the NCAA Round of 16 for the 10th time in the program’s 18 NCAA appearances (1996, ’97, ’98, 2001, ’03, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’12, ‘14).

Next up:
The Gators and Texas Tech meet Sunday at the Dizney Stadium for NCAA Third Round action. Match time is set for 2 p.m.
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.