Florida Soccer’s SEC Winless Streak Grows in Texas Draw
An SEC win continued to elude the Gators as they returned to Donald R. Dizney Stadium after two weeks on the road.
Florida soccer posted its second draw in one week Thursday in a 1-1 game against Texas. Despite the tie, Florida (4-3-3, 0-1-2) created numerous chances, logging 18 total shots and played a very physical game – something coach Nick Zimmerman said he’s immensely proud of.
“We’ve been really intentional the last two weeks with the little things and what we need to do to get better,” Zimmerman said. “We’ve got a very capable and exciting group.”
Physicality was key in Thursday’s matchup, with Florida logging 13 fouls to Texas’ 15. Texas was handed three yellow cards in the second half, while Florida earned one.
Yet the first half proved to be a slow one for the Gators, who did not seem to find a breakthrough.
For most of the first half, Florida was able to keep Texas (5-2-3, 0-1-2) at bay, really honing in defensively. The defensive effort was largely headed by junior defender Skye Barnes.
However, a foul in the box cost them dearly. Texas forward Ashlyn Anderson took the penalty kick, shooting it past Florida redshirt senior goalkeeper Jayden Emmanuel to put the Longhorns up by one. Anderson’s 29th-minute goal marked her second of the season.
The first-half score deficit was not created by a lack of trying on Florida’s part, who logged four shots, with two of them being on target. They created a number of chances, but were unable to get on the board, weighed down by offsides with four in just the first half and zero corners – a stark difference from Florida’s four first-half corners at Mississippi State last week. Florida went into halftime trailing for the fourth time this season.
But the team that came out of the locker room was a focused one, and the Gators quickly got to work pressuring the Texas defenders. In the 53rd minute, Florida earned its first corner kick – its first of eight total corners all racked up in the second half.
Thursday’s game marked Florida’s second consecutive game earning eight corners – an aspect of its game that Zimmerman has worked to improve upon as the season goes on.
“There’s some things that we had some success with, and there’s some things that we’re going to continue to iron out,” Zimmerman said. “I thought we defended tremendously on the sets.”
In the 58th minute, Texas defender Alicia Riggins handed the Gators an opening, fouling in the box to award Florida with a penalty kick. Sophomore midfielder Adia Symmonds took the shot, but came up short, kicking it over the top of the net.
Another foul proved to be the turning point for Florida, with a free kick being awarded to Zoe Main. Main sank a screamer into the back of the net with a right-footed shot from outside the box to bring the game to a tie. Main said she worked on the play throughout the week, coming in on a day off to shoot free kicks, preparing for the exact scenario.
“For some reason, I had a feeling I was going to,” Main said. “In practice yesterday, I scored twice on it, so I was like, ‘I gotta do it today.'”
Main went right back for more, capitalizing off of turnovers, corners and free kicks in the last half, attempting to give Florida an edge.
While Florida created 14 of its opportunities in the second half, it was unable to gain a lead over Texas, ultimately extending its winless streak to four games.
Florida goes back on the road, playing at Texas A&M Sunday with kickoff set for 3 p.m. in College Station.
Category: Gator Sports, Gators Soccer
