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Thursday, March 28, 2024
<p>UF defender Kat Williamson said the undersized field at Pressly Stadium can actually be an advantage for the opposition.</p>

UF defender Kat Williamson said the undersized field at Pressly Stadium can actually be an advantage for the opposition.

The Florida offense has had no trouble finding its groove as of late.

Problem is, the Gators aren’t showing up to the party on time.

To open Southeastern Conference play, the Gators were able to create scoring chances after halftime.

But finding the back of the net proved difficult in the first half of their 1-0 win against Georgia on Friday and their 4-2 loss to Tennessee on Sunday, when they struggled finding the proper spacing on offense.

No. 12 Florida (8-3, 1-1 SEC) hopes to buck that trend when it hosts Vanderbilt (6-4, 0-2 SEC) tonight at 7.

After the loss to Georgia, coach Becky Burleigh said Florida was unable to generate many good scoring chances in the first half because the Bulldogs were using a very conservative style of defense in which many players stayed closer to the back line.

“We can always get better offensively,” Burleigh said.  “We need to do a good job of using all the space on the field against teams that are going to put a lot of people behind that ball.

“That means the width all the way to the sidelines. That means the space that is behind them when they hold a high line.”

In the first 45 minutes, the Gators were only able to register one shot on goal between games against the Bulldogs and Vols. 

Burleigh said the Gators have to create holes in defenses if they are to improve their offensive consistency.

“We’ve got to do a better job of stretching them out, making those gaps wide between players, particularly on our field, which is smaller than most,” she said.

“We need every inch of space we can get.”

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At 70 yards by 110 yards, the field at Pressly Stadium is slightly smaller than the average soccer field. 

Junior center back Kat Williamson said this can play to a defense’s strength when trying to limit gaps  for the offense.

“Our outside backs really like to attack, so having more room for them to go into is great.” Williamson said.

“But with a small field, an advantage defensively is that we can be really close together.”

One of Florida’s outside backs, sophomore Maggie Rodgers said the key to preventing an offense from stretching the Gators out too much is knowing where everyone else is.

“The biggest thing is communication,” Rodgers said. 

“[Outside backs] have to constantly be in communication with the center back to know exactly where we need to be and limit any gaps.”

Junior forward Erika Tymrak said Florida should be just as effective on any field, but is excited to  be home tonight after a four-game road trip.

Florida has not lost to Vanderbilt at home since 1997.

“It’s a great atmosphere,” Tymrak said.

“The crowd is awesome. The fans are awesome, so we love playing at home.”

UF defender Kat Williamson said the undersized field at Pressly Stadium can actually be an advantage for the opposition.

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