The Alabama Crimson Tide rolled into Gainesville Friday night and ran into the 14th-ranked Florida soccer team’s best defensive performance of the season. A crowd of 1,059 at James G. Pressly Stadium witnessed the first Southeastern Conference shutout of the season for the Gators (9-4-1) who moved into second place in the SEC East Division with their 3-1-1 conference record.
Florida scored on bookend goals, one in the sixth minute by forward Lindsay Thompson and one in the 80th minute from midfielder Erika Tymrak. The two have been the most prolific scorers for the Gators this season.
But the defense was the story of the game. Alabama finished with just four shots against the Gators, one saved by Florida keeper Katie Fraine, one blocked by midfielder Jessica Eicken and two that were off target.
“Mostly what was good about it was that it was team defense,” Florida coach Becky Burleigh said after the game. “It wasn’t just one person defending and everyone else watching.”
The shutout puts a stamp on the back-and-forth beginning of SEC play for the Gators, who opened with strong home wins but suffered in the rain and on the road last weekend in Mississippi.
“It’s been a while,” Burleigh said. “I think that’s big. In terms of a defensive performance, I felt it was dominant. … I’m really pleased with how we controlled the match.”
Alabama has not been an offensive threat for much of the season, having scored just 12 goals, and the team was really hampered by the loss of forward Victoria Frederick, whom Burleigh described as the best player for the Crimson Tide.
Despite two goals from the offense, Burleigh wasn’t pleased with what she saw. Florida finished with 21 shots and many more opportunities.
“I’m not disappointed with the game,” she said. “Overall, I’m pleased with the game, but I think our offensive execution, I’m disappointed with.”
The problem was with the service, she said. For all of Florida’s play in the box, very little of it was on target. Although Florida is a team that relies a lot on its ground game and rhythmic passing, Burleigh said being out of rhythm wasn’t the problem.
She pointed to individual accountability.
“The people who are serving the ball in the box need to get off a good serve,” she said. “It’s pretty simple.”
Thompson’s goal came on a pass from Brooke Thigpen that split two Crimson Tide defenders. Thompson, too, was disappointed with the team’s inability to get the ball in the net, but she was happy with the 21 shots on goal.
“I’m happy with our shots because usually we haven’t been getting that many,” Thompson said. “It’ll work for us, we’ll get more [goals].”
Thompson’s goal was her eighth on the season, a career high.
“It feels really good,” she said. “I wasn’t really keeping track, but now that you mention it, it does feel pretty good. I hope to just continue to help my team out and to keep winning games.”
But she was happier with the fact that she was able to score in front of her grandparents, who came to their first game of the season Friday night. As for Alabama’s keeper, Justine Bernier, Thompson got to know her pretty well during the game.
“Their keeper did a good job of coming out and getting the ball,” Thompson said. “I don’t ever try to back down, so sometimes we would collide. … It was all fair.”
Burleigh said that the team showed a much better effort than it had last weekend in Mississippi where they tied Mississippi State and lost to Mississippi. For a coach who likes to focus on what her team can control—rather than focusing on the other team’s threats—this game was a good example on defense.
“The opponent is not the issue,” she said. “The issue is do we allow scoring opportunities? Tonight, we didn’t allow scoring opportunities.”
Alabama fell to 5-5-1 and 1-2-1 in the SEC West with the loss.
The Gators also got some other good news Friday. Louisiana State dropped a 1-0 decision at Kentucky and Georgia suffered a 1-0 setback to Mississippi. Florida plays host to Auburn (5-5-3, 2-3-0 SEC West) Sunday at 1 p.m.
SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
EASTERN DIVISION
SEC Pts. Div. ALL Pct.
South Carolina 4-0-1 13.0 2-0-0 12-0-1 .962
Florida 3-1-1 10.0 2-0-0 9-4-1 .679
Georgia 3-2-0 9.0 2-0-0 10-2-1 .808
Tennessee 3-2-0 9.0 1-1-0 7-5-1 .577
Kentucky 1-4-0 3.0 0-4-0 4-6-3 .423
Vanderbilt 1-4-0 3.0 1-3-0 7-5-1 .577
WESTERN DIVISION
SEC Pts. Div. ALL Pct.
Louisiana State 4-1-0 12.0 2-0-0 8-3-2 .692
Mississippi 3-1-0 9.0 1-0-0 9-3-0 .750
Auburn 2-3-0 6.0 2-2-0 5-5-3 .500
Alabama 1-2-1 4.0 1-1-1 5-5-1 .500
Arkansas 1-3-1 4.0 0-1-1 7-3-3 .654
Mississippi State 0-3-2 2.0 0-2-0 8-3-2 .692
RESULTS AND SCHEDULE
FRIDAY, OCT. 9
Florida 2, Alabama 0
Kentucky 1, Louisiana State 0
South Carolina 1, Auburn 0, OT
Mississippi 1, Georgia 0
Tennessee 3, Mississippi State 0
Arkansas 2, Vanderbilt 0
SUNDAY, OCT. 11
Auburn at Florida, 1 p.m. (SUN)
Arkansas at Kentucky, 1 p.m.
Mississippi State at Georgia, 2 p.m. (CSS)
Mississippi at Tennessee, 3 p.m. (ESPNU)
Louisiana State at Vanderbilt, 2 p.m.
Alabama at South Carolina, 3:30 p.m.