After being shut out 3-0 by Auburn at home on Sept. 22, the Gators had two ways they could respond.
They could either give up, or they could fight to save their season.
Florida took the second option.
Since that game, the No. 16 Gators (10-3, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) have gone 4-0 and have only given up one goal in the process.
“We are kind of coming, surprisingly quickly, towards the end of our season,” UF coach Becky Burleigh said. “But at the same time, each of these matches carries a lot importance to us. So being able to be mentally able every time (is important).”
Florida’s wins haven’t come without adversity.
The Gators had to deal with the impact of Hurricane Matthew last Thursday when their start time was moved up two hours, leaving James G. Pressly almost empty when they played Georgia.
Florida also had two of their last four games on the road versus SEC opponents, both of which were coming off wins.
The Gators snapped Tennessee’s three-game win streak on Sept. 25 and Ole Miss’s two-game win streak on Sunday.
And the wins have made the team stronger, especially on defense.
Three of its last four games have been shutouts, which is a credit to sophomore goalkeeper Kaylan Marckese’s ability in the box.
“I am proud of our team’s ability to step up and take responsibility for overall team defense,” Burleigh said. “Not just having defenders think about defending and attackers think about attacking … We want our goalkeeper to start our attack and our forwards to start our defense.”
The Gators are also much improved on offense.
In the last four games, Florida has had a combined 11 goals, five of which belong to senior forward Savannah Jordan.
The Fayetteville, Georgia, native, who was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, leads both her team and the SEC with 12 goals and 31 points, despite many teams marking her.
“I think she has been doing that most of her career.” Burleigh said. “When you score five goals in your opening weekend as a freshman, you start to get marked early. You can see the growth in her game, and the ability for her to dish out assists this year more so than ever.”
The Gators have five days to prepare before they face undefeated No. 4 South Carolina.
“They are very, very strong defensively and as a unit,” Burleigh said. “I think that’s something that will be a great matchup for us and see if we can break that down and put pressure on them.”
Contact Lauren Staff at lstaff@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @lstaff27.
UF goalkeeper Kaylan Marckese throws the ball back into play during the first half of Florida's 5-2 win against Iowa State on Aug. 19, 2016, at James G. Pressly Stadium.
