Florida Gators soccer defeats Syracuse at home

Special report on the Florida Gators soccer team:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida soccer team moves to 4-0 for the first time since 2010 after its 2-1 win over Syracuse on a damp Sunday evening at the Donald R. Dizney Stadium.

How the Goals Were Scored:
Florida scored its earliest goal of the season in the eighth minute. Syracuse’s Shannon Aviza was whistled for a handball on a Melanie Monteagudo shot deep in the SU box. Gabby Seiler successfully converted the penalty kick to give Florida the early lead.

Syracuse tied the match in the 24th minute when Alana O’Neill took the ball end line. Her pass to the top of the six-yard box was one-touched in by Sydney Brackett.

Briana Solis registered her third assist of the season in the 57th minute. She received the ball at the top corner of the box from Sarah Troccoli and then took a couple of touches while she explored her options. Solis’ centering pass was one-touched off Parker Roberts’ right foot just inside the far post to give Florida the game winner.

Worth Noting

* Seiler brings the number of times a Gator has scored in a goal in four or more consecutive matches to 31. She’s scored in each of Florida’s four matches this season. A Gator has scored in four or more consecutive matches now five times since 2010 (Savannah Jordan – six consecutive matches in 2013, five in both 2014 and 2015; McKenzie Barney – five in 2010).

* Roberts has scored both her Gator goals on consecutive Sundays. She transferred to Florida for the 2016 season after playing at Kansas as a freshman in 2015. Roberts sat out the 2016 Gator campaign as she was a member of the U.S. Under-20 Team for the 2016 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

* Florida opens the season with a 4-0 record for the first time since 2010.

Records:
Florida: 4-0-0, 0-0 SEC
Gator Soccer Moves to 4-0 after 2-1 Win vs Syracuse

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida soccer team moves to 4-0 for the first time since 2010 after its 2-1 win over Syracuse on a damp Sunday evening at the Donald R. Dizney Stadium.

How the Goals Were Scored:
Florida scored its earliest goal of the season in the eighth minute. Syracuse’s Shannon Aviza was whistled for a handball on a Melanie Monteagudo shot deep in the SU box. Gabby Seiler successfully converted the penalty kick to give Florida the early lead.

Syracuse tied the match in the 24th minute when Alana O’Neill took the ball end line. Her pass to the top of the six-yard box was one-touched in by Sydney Brackett.

Briana Solis registered her third assist of the season in the 57th minute. She received the ball at the top corner of the box from Sarah Troccoli and then took a couple of touches while she explored her options. Solis’ centering pass was one-touched off Parker Roberts’ right foot just inside the far post to give Florida the game winner.

Worth Noting

* Seiler brings the number of times a Gator has scored in a goal in four or more consecutive matches to 31. She’s scored in each of Florida’s four matches this season. A Gator has scored in four or more consecutive matches now five times since 2010 (Savannah Jordan – six consecutive matches in 2013, five in both 2014 and 2015; McKenzie Barney – five in 2010).

* Roberts has scored both her Gator goals on consecutive Sundays. She transferred to Florida for the 2016 season after playing at Kansas as a freshman in 2015. Roberts sat out the 2016 Gator campaign as she was a member of the U.S. Under-20 Team for the 2016 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

* Florida opens the season with a 4-0 record for the first time since 2010.

Records:
Florida: 4-0-0, 0-0 SEC
Syracuse: 2-1-1, 0-0 ACC

What the Gators Said:
Take us through your goal and what you felt when you put the Gators ahead.
“I saw Bri [Briana Solis] running down the sideline and I noticed a big gap in the middle. I knew I had to get there. Whether I was going to get the ball or not, I knew there was an opportunity.

“I was just so relieved because I knew we were going to win this game. After having so many opportunities in the first half that I should have put in the back of the net, it was really relieving to put one in.” – redshirt sophomore Parker Roberts

What led to the assist on Parker’s goal?
“I was just trying to get forward more to put more pressure on the other team’s defense. I took a player on and then I could hear Parker [Roberts] yelling my name. So I just played it to her and she finished it.” – junior Briana Solis

Gators possessed the ball until late in the second half when Syracuse got some opportunities. What adjustments were made at halftime?
“We talked about keeping the ball, playing two-touch and trying to connect passes. A lot of times our offense is our best defense and I think that was the case early in the second half. Late in the second half when they got some opportunities, it was more us standing off them a little too much – being too passive. That’s not our game plan. It will be really good thing for us to see that on film.” – Florida Head Coach Becky Burleigh

Preseason Conference Votes:
Florida tied for third in the 2016 SEC regular-season standings and won the SEC Tournament title. Syracuse took 13th in the 2016 Atlantic Coast Conference standings.
* Florida – The SEC coaches picked the Gators to win the 2017 Southeastern Conference title<http://floridagators.com/news/2017/8/14/florida-is-picked-to-win-in-sec-soccer-coaches-preseason-vote.aspx?path=soccer>.

* Syracuse – The Orange is picked to take 13th in the ACC. Florida State is the pick to win the league.

Rankings:
Florida ranks No. 8 on the United Soccer Coaches (USC) poll<http://unitedsoccercoaches.org/web/Rankings/College_Rankings/NCAA_DI_WOMEN/web/rankings/ncaa/di_women.aspx> and Stanford shares the top spot with West Virginia.

Next up:
The Gators head west to play in next weekend’s Husky/Nike Invitational. Florida faces tournament host Washington (2-2, 0-0 Pac 12) on Friday in Seattle, Wash. The Huskies lost 2-1 to Southern Methodist this evening in home action. That match will air live on the Pac-12 Network at 11 p.m. ET.

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.