Gators Soccer falls short to FSU in 1-0 loss

Florida’s unbeaten start to the season came to an end after a 1-0 loss against No. 5 FSU. The Gators traveled to Tallahassee to face their first-ranked opponent of the season on Sunday to officially close out non-conference play.

“I’m really excited about the heart and the competitiveness we saw here,” Florida Head Coach Samantha Bohon said. “Disappointed obviously with the result because we didn’t come here to have a close game, we came here to win the game. I think we’ll be better as a result of this and this will help us as we go into SEC play.”

Gritty effort in Tallahassee 🆚 No. 5 Florida State

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— Gators Soccer (@GatorsSoccer) September 10, 2023

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Game Breakdown

Both teams came out strong in the first half, but the score remained 0-0 going into halftime. Florida GK, Alexa Goldberg was tested in the 21′ minute with a shot from Jody Brown forcing her to come up big with a save.  Despite the loss, Goldberg performed well and kept the Gators in the game with two big saves.

🐊 Alexa Goldberg with the save to keep the match scoreless. 16 minutes remaining in opening half.

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Florida’s defense kept FSU from scoring until the 76′ minute when Jody Brown scored the game-winner off a pass from Beata Olsson. With 14 minutes left, the Gators were unable to find the back of the net or create many chances to even the score on Sunday.

Despite the loss, the Gators put up an impressive performance against the 5th ranked team in the nation.

“I thought we did a little bit better in the first half than in the second half of having a little bit more possession,” Bohon said. “But we knew Florida State has shown a trend of really pushing in the second half and so I was happy that we bended but didn’t break in the second half.”

Stats from Sunday’s Match

Florida recorded only 3 shots compared to FSU’s 10 in the match-up. Sunday’s result gave the Gators their first loss of the season, as the team enters conference play with a 4-1-2 record.

Seminole Soccer Complex was packed with 1,823 fans who came out to watch these teams go head-to-head on Sunday afternoon. This became the 29th time these two teams had faced each other with FSU leading the series 16-13.

Next up

The Gators return home to kick off SEC play against Missouri (4-1-2) on Friday at 7 p.m. The Tigers closed out non-conference play with a 2-0 win over Missouri State.

Florida welcomes back a championship team celebrating a milestone anniversary on Friday night for Alumni Night. The 1998 NCAA champion team returns home to celebrate its 25th anniversary.