Soccer: Gators shut down LSU, 4-0

The 12th-ranked Florida Gators (12-4-2, 6-1-2 SEC) moved a step closer to first place in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference Thursday night by shutting out 17th-ranked LSU, the top team from the Western Division, 4-0, before a James G. Pressly Stadium crowd of 1,359.

The night was particularly special for Florida coach Becky Burleigh and senior forward Lauren Hyde because the Gators wore pink to support breast cancer awareness. Burleigh’s mom, Nancy, is a three-time cancer survivor while Hyde lost her mother to the battle with breast cancer when she was a senior in high school.

Before the game, Hyde’s friend Amy approached her and said, “Do this for your mom.”

Hyde responded, “I think I did, and the whole team did. It was a good outcome.” Hyde said that this was a signature win for the Gators, who need to win their final three games to have a chance at the SEC Championship.

LSU, which has never beaten Florida in soccer, came into the game atop the Western Division and tied with Eastern Division leader South Carolina (ranked #9) for the best record in the conference. The Tigers had won or tied eight of their last matches before the Gators took them to the woodshed.

“We needed come out and make a statement, and that’s was a statement — 4-0 is huge in soccer,” Hyde said. “It was awesome to come out and beat such a great team at home today.”

Although the Gators produced four goals, Burleigh credited Hyde and her defense with the team’s success.

“I think defensively, it’s one of our better efforts of the season,” she said. “And defensively, I don’t just mean our back four or our keeper — I mean the whole team. That’s big for us. We’ve been focusing on that.”

McKenzie Barney made her first home start and scored her fourth and fifth goals of the season.  Redshirted last season after tearing her ACL, Barney has come on strong in the SEC portion of Florida’s schedule.

As good as she was Thursday night, Barney felt she could have provided even more offense for the Gators.

“It was my first start at home, I was so excited,” she said. “Everyone helped so much. The whole team pumped me up. There were a few opportunities in the last few games where I could have just touched the ball in but didn’t. It felt really nice to finally put two in for them.”

Burleigh was excited with what she saw in Barney as well.

“I thought Mac was brilliant,” she said.

Barney was one of the several lineup adjustments that Florida has made in the last two games. Other first- or second-time starters included Tahnai Annis and Sarah Chapman.

“At the beginning of the season, we had talked about having an alternate lineup for Friday versus Sunday, but we decided not to do it,” Burleigh said. “I think that was probably a mistake to not do it, so we tried it tonight.”

She said that having a different perspective upon entering the game was beneficial for her players.

“I think it’s easier to go into a game when you see what’s happening, that the other players are tired,” Burleigh said. “I think it helps your mindset knowing that you can change the game when you come into it.”

Now the Gators turn their attention to stringing together their first consecutive road wins of the season. Arkansas will be Florida’s last road test before the SEC tournament.

“[This game] does give us a good mindset,” Hyde said. “It reminds us that we need to beat teams that bad, and we need to beat them on the road. This upcoming game against Arkansas is gonna be huge for us. We’ve struggled on the road, and we have to bring how we played tonight to Arkansas.”

She and Barney said the team is taking the two remaining games one at a time and trying not to look ahead at the colossal clash coming up with South Carolina to close out the regular season.

Barney said that the pressure has helped the team focus.

“How wouldn’t it make you focus? It’s the ultimate competitive situation,” she said. “You have three games, and if you win them, you win the SEC. I think everyone is stepping up, and it shows.”

Both players talked about what it will take to win the final two games. They both shared the same message—the team must play like this against every remaining team if they want to live up to their own expectations.

“Once we get things going,” Barney said, “once we win the 50-50s and we have possession, we can play with anyone, and we can score four goals on anyone.”