Florida Gators soccer shuts out Vandy on the road

Special report on the Florida Gators soccer team:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Sophomore Cassidy Lindley provided the only goal of the afternoon, giving Florida a 1-0 win over No. 15 and defending Southeastern Conference champion Vanderbilt Sunday afternoon at the Vanderbilt Soccer / Lacrosse Complex.

Sunday’s scoring:
Florida’s Cassidy Lindley came off the bench in the 25th minute to provide the match’s only goal. Junior Madison Alexander’s through ball found Lindley making a run through the center of the Commodore half. Lindley’s right-footed angled shot scored from 16 yards at the far post in the 38th minute.

Junior goalkeeper Susi Espinoza had a big save in the closing moments to preserve the Gators’ fifth shutout of 2019. Espinoza made the point-blank stop at the post on Vanderbilt’s Haley Hopkins header in the 90th minute to earn her eighth career shutout.

Worth Noting

*   Cassidy Lindley gave her older brother, Cameron, something to cheer this afternoon. Cameron Lindley is currently on loan to Memphis 901 from Major League Soccer’s Orlando City. Memphis played a home match Saturday (Cameron had an assist on Memphis’ opening goal in a 5-0 win). Sunday was the first time the siblings saw each other since April.
*   All three of Vanderbilt’s losses have been 1-0 decisions and today is VU’s first home loss of 2019. This is the Commodores’ second consecutive loss, falling 1-0 at No. 13 Arkansas Thursday evening.
*   Florida now leads Vanderbilt 28-3-1 all-time, including 12-1-1 in Nashville.

Records:
Florida: 7-4-0, 3-0-0 SEC
Vanderbilt: 8-3-0, 1-2-0 SEC

What the Gators Said:
On today’ win:
“It was a really good win. It is tough to come here, play a noon game against a really talented Vandy team. So for us to come out with the shutout and the win is huge.

“We were tough today. Still think we can manage the games better but in terms of our effort and physicality, I thought we did a really good job.” – Florida Head Coach Becky Burleigh

On her goal:
“As soon as Madi (Alexander) got the ball and drove forward, I saw that gap behind the center back. She played it through and I just thought ‘Shoot it’ because I knew no one would be there as our other forward was super wide. So I just hit it.” – sophomore Cassidy Lindley

On today’s performance by the Gators:
“It wasn’t our best as there were some opportunities we didn’t finish. But we kept the lead and did a good job of keeping our heads high throughout.” – sophomore Cassidy Lindley

Next Up:
The Gators face another ranked opponent, No. 14 Texas A&M, next Sunday.

Sunday, Oct. 6 versus Texas A&M:
Time: 5 p.m. ET
Site: Donald R. Dizney Stadium<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_facilities_-3Fid-3D8&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=vCXUPOCV5bMZ-fWp0aEFK2mfQFV-rlNY8kT6iAXc6_E&s=bAd_8PFrklcWcohwvvMbnXFUBPF4dZzxjjYpgrndyJs&e= >
Television: ESPNU
Radio: ESPN 98.1 FM / 850 AM<http://www.wruf.com/listen-live/> with action with action called by Kyle Crooks and Matthew Stubbington
Live Stats<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_sidearmstats_wsoc_summary&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=vCXUPOCV5bMZ-fWp0aEFK2mfQFV-rlNY8kT6iAXc6_E&s=77vLyXiUm9rhs6B6rUyH6XQW6xE_1UXzC-yQwZgK72U&e= >
Admission: Free
Promotions: Saluting Those Who Serve Game – Military personnel and First Responders are invited to attend the game; Post-game Autographs – Members of the team will be signing autographs following the match

Florida (7-4-0, 3-0-0 SEC) at No. 15 Vanderbilt (8-3-0, 1-2-0 SEC)

Stadium: Vanderbilt Soccer / Lacrosse Complex (556)

Weather: 93 degrees, winds SSW at 4 mph, 44% humidity

Goals by Period

1

2

Total

Florida

1

0

1

Vanderbilt

0

0

0

Scoring Summary:

No.

Time

Team

Goal Scorer

Assist

1.

37:04

UF

Cassidy Lindley

Madison Alexander

Shots: Florida 7, Vanderbilt 12

Saves: Florida 2 (Susi Espinoza 2), Vanderbilt 3 (Lauren Demarchi 1, Taiana Tolleson 2);

Cautions:

Madi Allen/VU – yellow (33:56), Kaylann Boyd/VU – yellow (42:24)

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.