The seventh ranked Florida soccer team improved its record to 8-2 on Sunday afternoon after defeating the Missouri Tigers 3-1 at the Dizney Lacrosse Stadium.
Senior midfielder Havana Solaun drew first blood with a goal in the 19th minute. Sophomore midfielder Betsy Middleton pushed the lead to 2-0 for Florida with a right-footed strike in the 33rd minute.
“I think it’s good when you can have an SEC weekend where you get six points and that’s exactly what happened,” said Florida head coach Becky Burleigh. “We used a lot of players today so it was pretty much a total team effort which was great. We didn’t execute exactly how we wanted to all the time but at the same time, I thought some of the goals were really spectacular.”
With the win, the Gators open up conference play 3-0. Florida won its SEC home opener against Georgia on Friday.
“It was a really tough game you know with the heat and (playing on Sunday),” said Solaun. “But I think we stuck to the way we like to play and got some goals out of it.”
The Gators enjoyed some home cookin’ after playing a pair of games at home after a six-game road trip.
“The travel schedule at the beginning of the season did wear us out, at least me in particular,” Middleton said. “I was exhausted from all the travel that we did. Having a home weekend was completely rejuvenating. It’s great to play in front of our home crowd… and not having to fly in and out every day.”
Florida will travel for its next game when it goes head to head with Texas A&M on Friday.
For audio on the above quotes, click below:
Florida head coach Becky Burleigh talks about starting 2-0 in SEC play
Havana Solaun is happy to come away with the win.
Betsy Middleton talks about playing a few games at home after a six-game road trip