On a rainy night in Fayetteville, Arkansas, the fourth ranked Florida Gators (5-2) took on the Arkansas Razorbacks (8-1) in their second conference matchup of the season. Arkansas had never beaten Florida in 21 all-time games against the Gators, but they changed that Friday night with a 2-1 victory.
After an hour and 45-minute rain delay, Arkansas took momentum early in the game. The field conditions played right into the Razorbacks’ hands while the Gators struggled to find a pace.
Arkansas junior Jessi Hartzler was the offensive leader of the night. In the 23rd minute, she sent a long laser of a shot into the top right corner of the net giving Gators goal keeper Kaylan Marckese no chance of making a save and the Razorbacks a 1-0 lead. Just two minutes later, she scored again with a header off of a corner kick for what would be Arkansas final score of the night.
The Gators came out with a different attitude in the second half. They outshot Arkansas 20-13 with 15 of those shots coming in the second half. In the 50th minute, senior Meggie Dougherty Howard scored on a sliding kick off of Mayra Pelayo’s corner kick, putting Florida within one score of Arkansas.
Florida had several missed opportunities throughout the night, including eight offside penalties, mostly on a frustrated Savannah Jordan. One good half just would not get the job done against a tough SEC opponent like Arkansas.
Coming Up Next
The Gators are headed back to Gainesville to take on UCF this Sunday at 7 p.m.