The Florida soccer team found a way to get past Oklahoma State, but the Gators needed overtime to seal the victory.
The Gators (4-1-0) won on a Brooke Sharp goal in the final minute of the overtime period to defeat Oklahoma State 3-2 Friday night at James G. Pressly Stadium.
Oklahoma State (2-2-0) struck quickly following the opening whistle scoring in the third minute of the match.
The ball was sent across the front of the goal in front of redshirt junior goalkeeper Valerie Tysinger and into the back of the net.
The Gators answered with a goal of their own in the 27th minute when Sharp, the junior forward, scored her first goal of the season.
Gators coach Becky Burleigh said that coming back from an early deficit was good for her team.
“Well I think it’s good for us to have an overtime win,” Burleigh said. “I think that says a lot about our team to comeback from the situation we were in.”
One of the biggest changes for the Gators in this game was the switch of formation early on that led to scoring opportunities for the Gators.
Senior midfielder Lauren Smith came into the game in the 23rd minute and played alongside senior defenders Christen Westphal and Claire Falknor on the back line as the Gators shifted to a 3-5-2 formation for the remainder of the game.
Burleigh said the Gators switched the formation because of what Oklahoma State was showing them during the early minutes of the match.
Smith split the corner kick responsibilities with Westphal for the remainder of the game.
Providing another option for the Gators on set pieces, the move by Burleigh to put Smith into the game payed off when she sent a corner kick into the box in the 38th minute that was met by a Liz Slattery header for the Gators’ second goal.
The goal was the junior midfielder’s first of the season.
The Gators entered the halftime locker room with a 2-1 lead over Oklahoma State. When the second half kicked off, the Gators had a new face in the goal.
Freshman goalkeeper Kaylan Markese made her first appearance as a Gator in the second half and was greeted with an Oklahoma State goal in the 66th minute, tying the game.
For the remainder of the 90 minutes, neither team could break the tie and the teams prepared for an overtime period.
The Gators played in an overtime game earlier this season in their 0-1 loss to Ohio State on Aug. 23.
After three corner kicks and seven shot attempts in overtime, the Gators broke the tie in the final minute of the period. Sharp found the back of the net in the 100th minute scoring her second goal of the match.
“We all were trying to frame the goal,” Sharp said. “I wasn’t expecting us to score in that last 20 seconds, but I’m glad we did.”
Follow Ryan Summers on Twitter @RyanSummers18
UF defender Christen Westphal dribbles the ball during Florida's 3-2 win against Florida State on Aug. 30, 2015, at James G. Pressly stadium.
