With light rain slicking the field in Lawrence, Kan., just before warm-ups, all the Gators had to do Sunday was find an open shot and watch as the Jayhawks let the game slip right through their fingers.
In its final tune-up before Southeastern Conference play, No. 9 Florida (7-2) poured in five first-half goals, two off goalie deflections, to put Kansas (6-3) away early in a convincing 7-2 win.
“We did a really good job of moving the ball well and catching Kansas out of position,” UF coach Becky Burleigh said.
“It’s difficult to recover when the ball’s moving that quickly. The finishes became relatively easy after the way we moved the ball.”
The Gators were able to dominate possession and create dangerous chances throughout the match, as 11 of their 14 shots found the target and pressured Jayhawks goalie Kat Liebetrau.
Both sophomore defender Maggie Rodgers (two assists) and senior forward Tahnai Annis (two goals) capitalized on Kansas’ porous defense with banner days offensively. The pair teamed up on Florida’s opening score eight minutes in, and closing goal two minutes before the final whistle.
“I specifically remember before the game and right after that first cross happened, I was headed over to Maggie and was like, ‘We can do this all game. If you cross the ball, I promise I’m going to be in there to finish it,’” Annis said.
The field’s wet conditions helped Florida score on half of its attempts, as Kansas’ keeper had trouble controlling incoming shots after giving up the early 1-0 lead.
Freshman Annie Speese, who scored both goals in a 2-0 win against Missouri on Friday, added Florida’s second goal just 12 minutes after Annis.
The midfielder buried a ricocheted shot by fellow freshman Havana Solaun, which bounced off the goalkeeper’s hands and rolled free at the left post.
Playing at forward, Solaun fired in another goal four minutes later in the 24th minute after her own deflected shot rebounded back to her in front of goal.
“We’re always hopefully making progress (offensively), if not, then we’re not doing what we’re supposed to in practice,” Speese said.
“We’re just starting to know each other even more, and I think that has a lot to do with our team chemistry overall.”
With a 3-0 lead in hand, the Gators continued to keep their pace, as 20 of the squad’s 22 traveling players saw action in the first half against the Jayhawks.
Florida closed the final two minutes of the first half in a scoring frenzy.
Junior midfielder McKenzie Barney buried her second goal of the year in the 44th minute, which was followed by senior Lindsay Thompson adding the latest first-half goal in Florida history as time expired in the final minute.
“They were counting down the 10-second clock. She kept her composure and slipped in the ball just at the last second,” Burleigh said of Thompson’s first-half thriller.
“It was good for her stay focused, despite the fact the clock was running down.”
To start the second half, Burleigh played mostly her second line, leading to two Kansas goals.
Senior goalie Brooke Chancey conceded scores in both the 53rd and 58th minutes.
The coach, however, was able to quickly remedy the situation with the substitutions of starters Jazmyne Avant and Kat Williamson back into the defense minutes later.
The Gators staved off any chance of a Jayhawks’ comeback when junior Erika Tymrak punched in a penalty shot just 3:41 into the second half and Annis added a late insurance goal in the 88th minute.
Florida has five days off before traveling to Athens, Ga., on Friday to play Georgia.
Contact John Boothe at jboothe@alligator.org.
Sophomore Maggie Rodgers had two assists and the Gators scored a season-high seven goals Sunday.
