No. 21 Florida Soccer Falls To No. 5 Wake Forest
No. 21 Florida soccer suffered its first home loss after dropping a 2-1 match against No. 5 Wake Forest on Sunday.
Florida (4-2-1) did not make it easy for undefeated Wake Forest (7-0), forcing the Deacs to concede their first goal of the season and holding them to only four shots on goal. But despite coming back from a one-goal deficit during the second half, Florida fell at Dizney Stadium.
“We use these opportunities to learn and that’s going to be our message all year,” UF coach Nick Zimmerman said. “This is a process.”
The Gators seemed to be holding their own at the start of the first half — focusing on putting pressure on the Deacs attack and regaining possession several times.
But the Deacons did not take long to get on the board. Wake Forest defender Sierra Sythe capitalized on a corner, shooting from outside of the box to score 14 minutes in. Sythe, a steady presence in the Deacons’ backline with more than 40 consecutive starts, has had quite a week, coming off a goal in Wake Forest’s rout of South Florida on Thursday.
Florida was able to fend off the Wake Forest for the rest of the half, holding it to four shots and one corner.
The Gators looked to catch up, but never quite found a breakthrough in the first half. Sophomore midfielder Tatum Borman nearly scored in the 30th minute, but wound up hitting the crossbar. Senior forward Zoe Main and sophomore midfielder Adia Symmonds also worked to create opportunities, with each logging shots in the first half.
Still, the Gators went into the locker room trailing at halftime for the first time this season.
Wake Forest came into the second half playing an intense game, logging an on-target shot in the 51st minute that redshirt senior goalkeeper Jayden Emmanuel was able to save.
Six minutes later, the Gators finally found their opening. Borman found the back of the net, shooting from way outside the box to score her first goal as a Gator. Just like that, the game was tied 1-1.
“[We’re] really proud of her,” Zimmerman said. “It was a goal that we felt was coming.”
Florida’s defense got right back to work after that, with junior defender Skye Barnes leading the charge. Emmanuel also did her part, saving yet another shot to keep the Gators’ hopes alive.
But it started to go downhill for the Gators with just 11 minutes left in the match. Wake Forest was awarded a penalty shot when UF freshman defender Lael Hill fouled Sythe in the box. Sythe sank the penalty shot into the bottom left of the net to put the Deacs back in the lead.
Main made an attempt to draw again in the 89th minute, but goalkeeper Valentina Amaral pulled through, making a big save.
It’s the Gators’ first loss since Aug. 13. Going into conference play Thursday, the Gators look to learn from this experience as they prepare to face No. 20 South Carolina.
Borman thinks the team will fare well as it goes on the road to start SEC play, she said.
“I feel really good for our team,” Borman said. “I think we prepared ourselves well to deal with hard situations, so in conference outcomes, we will be ready to go.”
Category: Gator Sports, Gators Soccer, SEC, Soccer
