After its worst performance of the season, the Gators’ defense knew it had to step up, and it did so in a big way this weekend.
Against then-No. 12 Tennessee on Sept. 25, Florida allowed a season-high four goals. Following the 4-2 loss, the Gators addressed several areas of concern on defense, resulting in shutouts posted at home against Vanderbilt and Kentucky.
“To give up four goals in a game is not where we want to be by any stretch of the imagination,” coach Becky Burleigh said after the Tennessee game.
Two of the Volunteers’ goals came directly off Gators turnovers.
Burleigh emphasized the importance of making sure they were on target whenever they played passes coming from the side and back passes, as miscues can lead to scoring opportunities for the opposition.
The advice paid dividends for No. 12 Florida (10-3, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) as it played cleaner games in the weekend’s shutout wins.
Last week in practice, the Gators made some tactical adjustments to help the defense. Their system often requires sending many players forward, including the outside backs. If not handled correctly, that style of play can lead to mismatches when the other team goes on the attack.
Burleigh said Florida needed to focus on recognizing when it was sending players forward and taking the correct actions under those circumstances, whether it’s waiting for help-side defense to step up or keeping players back.
The adjustments were evident, as the Gators held the Commodores to three total shots Friday night, while holding the Wildcats to just two shots on goal Sunday.
“After [the Tennessee game], we kind of focused this weekend on ‘get the shutout, get the shutout,’ and keeping that in the forefront really helped,” senior outside back Jazmyne Avant said Sunday.
The play of Avant and the rest of Florida’s back line was key in wins during the weekend. Avant, sophomore Maggie Rodgers and junior Kat Williamson were on the pitch for the entirety of both games.
Freshman defender Annie Bobbitt played 70 minutes Friday night after coming in for injured junior defender Katie Kadera, and Bobbitt played 90 minutes on Sunday.
Burleigh said that although Bobbitt played due to the injury to Kadera, Bobbitt has improved during the course of the season and earned more playing time with her performance in limited minutes.
“We’ve been working with her on her physical presence, which I think she’s made a big emphasis to get better at, but she [keeps her composure],” Burleigh said of Bobbitt. “She is calm on the ball and has excellent distribution.”
The Gators’ strong defensive play also earned Williamson multiple honors, as she received her second SEC Defensive Player of the Week award this season. She was also named to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week.
After a 4-2 loss to Tennessee on Sept. 25, Gators outside back Jazmyne Avant (right) and the defense responded with two shutout wins during the weekend.
