By way of penalty kicks, Florida fell to Stanford on Friday night in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament, bringing an end to the Gators’ season.
“I thought it was a really unbelievable match,” coach Becky Burleigh said. “Two great teams just battling it out and I was so proud of our team to go down twice, to come back twice…I don’t think this team has any regrets.”
After 90 minutes of regulation, No. 2 seed Florida and No. 1 seed Stanford were tied at two goals apiece in Palo Alto, California. An own goal by Stanford evened the match at 1-1 in the 10th minute and a goal from Senior Havana Solaun off of a corner kick from senior Annie Speese got the Gators even again at 2-2 in the 79th minute.
Florida and Stanford headed to overtime. Again.
This was the second time this season the two teams had faced off. The Cardinal defeated the Gators on Sept. 12 by a score of 1-0, also in overtime and also in Palo Alto.
Friday’s game went beyond overtime, however. The fate of this Elite Eight match was left in the hands of penalty kicks.
Florida fell to Stanford 4-3 in the penalty kick period after coming up empty on its first two shots. Sophomore goalkeeper Jane Campbell proved to be the difference for the Cardinal with two big penalty kick saves and then by shooting the winning goal herself.
With the victory, Stanford now advances to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament College Cup and will face Florida State, another No. 1 seed, on Dec. 5 in Boca Raton, Florida.
As for the Gators, their season has come to an end sooner than they had hoped, but it was a ride they won’t soon forget.
“Obviously no one is happy with a loss, but certainly this is a really fulfilling season,” Burleigh said. “I just felt like this team really came together and the growth and development we saw, as people and players, was incredible and they’ve really set the standard for future Gator soccer teams.”
Follow Alex Maminakis on Twitter @alexmaminakis
Havana Solaun kicks the ball during Florida's 3-2 win against Texas Tech at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
