DES MOINES, Iowa. – The No. 9 University of Florida soccer team (4-2, 0-0 SEC) shut out Drake (1-3-1, 0-0 MVC) 2-0 Sunday afternoon in front of a Drake Stadium crowd of 218.
Florida’s 2007 points co-leaders each turned in a goal Sunday. Ashley Harris scored first for Florida, taking the ball from KeLeigh Hudson to put the untouched ball in from eight yards at 57:00. The goal is her fourth of the season, extending her 2007 UF goals lead.
“Stacy was getting across and KeLeigh was cutting in. I wasn’t sure if she was going to get to it or not, so I just came in when I saw the defender and hit it to the corner,” Harris said. “I was just looking at the goal. I knew we needed to score.”
Just a few minutes later, KeLeigh Hudson got a goal of her own. Tricia Townsend served the left-footed ball into the box to find Hudson, who put the one-timer in from 10 yards for her third goal of the season at
63:09.
“Tricia crossed a great ball, left-footed,” KeLeigh Hudson said. “I saw that I had time so I brought it down with my chest and hit it far post left foot.”
Drake looked to put one in during the 69th minute, when Bulldog Sarah Foote’s header was heading to the far post at a good pace. UF goalkeeper Katie Fraine lunged left, making the save off her fingers for a DU corner kick. Fraine finished the day with four saves.
It was a physical match Sunday, with 20 fouls awarded for the contest.
“Drake played a good, physical brand of soccer,” UF Head Coach Becky Burleigh said. “It wasn’t easy for us to come out with a 2-0 win and you have to give credit to Drake for that.”
The Gators, coming off a disappointing 1-0 loss Friday at Illinois, knew they needed to come out strong on Sunday.
“I thought we had a few stretches in the early first half that I thought we played well, but it wasn’t until the second half that we felt that we got back our rhythm a little bit,” Burleigh said.
Next up, the Gators return home to play host to Florida Atlantic University on Friday, Sept. 21 at 7 p. m (ET). The action for that match can be heard live on www. GatorZone. com and GatorVision subscribers can view the UF-FAU match when play begins at 7 p. m.
Scoring Summary: 1st 2nd Final
Florida 0 2 2
Drake 0 0 0
Scoring:
UF – Ashley Harris (KeLeigh Hudson, Stacy Bishop) 57:00
UF – KeLeigh Hudson (Tricia Townsend) 63:09
Goalkeepers:
Minutes Saves GA
Florida Katie Fraine 90:00 4 0
Drake Jenny Schroeder 90:00 6 2
Statistical Summary: UF DU
Shots 11 9
Saves 4 6
Corner Kicks 3 2
Fouls 13 7
Offside 2 3