Jo Dragotta was not happy about being tackled to the ground, and about 10 minutes later, she got her revenge.
After being fouled in the 77th minute, Dragotta drilled a corner kick delivered by junior Adriana Leon into the back of the net.
Dragotta’s 86th minute goal put the No. 12 Gators up 2-1, a lead they would not relinquish in their victory against No. 14 Missouri Friday night.
“Obviously, when the ball came to me, I just wanted to hit it as hard as I could, because I was just a little frustrated,” Dragotta said.
Jessica Greer, the Missouri player who fouled Dragotta, received a yellow card for the tackle. Greer was the second Missouri player to be booked in less than a minute. 24 seconds earlier, Tigers forward Taiwo Adeshigbin fouled senior midfielder Holly King.
Missouri had eight fouls on the night, with many physical plays the referees didn’t call.
“It was pretty much what we expected,” coach Becky Burleigh said. “I thought the referee could have called it a little bit tighter.”
The Tigers dominated early in the game, and down by a goal, Burleigh needed to get the Gators more composed at halftime.
“It was a tale of two halves,” Dragotta said. “Halftime was a good breather…Becky made us literally all take a deep breath at once.”
Florida was able to equalize early in the second half. Sophomore Annie Speese got the ball from senior Erika Tymrak in front of the goal and fired it past goalkeeper McKenzie Sauerwein. It was Speese’s third goal against Missouri in the past two seasons.
“In the second half, we came out on fire,” Speese said. “It was bound to happen, just as soon as it did, that’s when we all kind of knew we were going to win this game.”
This victory gave the Gators their eighth straight win in Southeastern Conference play, but the players are not concerned with how many games they have won already, only with how many more they are going to win.
Said Speese: “It’s not about a number…it’s about us getting consistent.”
