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Friday, March 29, 2024
<p>UF midfielder scored just one goal in Florida's 14-13 loss to Navy in Annapolis, Maryland, on Saturday.</p>

UF midfielder scored just one goal in Florida's 14-13 loss to Navy in Annapolis, Maryland, on Saturday.

Navy coach Cindy Timchal searched for a way to stop Florida’s high-powered offense.

She found her answer in backup goalkeeper Abbi Young.

Timchal replaced starting goalkeeper Gab Harchelroad with Young after the Gators went up 10-5 at the 15:49 mark of the second half.

Young made four saves and allowed only three goals the rest of the way, propelling the Midshipmen to a 14-13 comeback win over No. 13 UF on Saturday.

Florida (1-3) started the game well.

Senior midfielder Sydney Pirreca opened the scoring with a long-range shot that fizzled past Harchelroad.

That was the only goal of the game for Pirreca. She was dealt two yellow cards in the first half, which prevented her from coming back onto the field.

The growing connection between senior attacker Lindsey Ronbeck and freshman attacker Hannah Mardiney was on display during the team’s second goal.

Ronbeck found Mardiney, who slotted home her first goal of the season to put the Gators up 2-0.

Mardiney started her second game in a row in place of sophomore attacker Kassidy Bresnahan, but Bresnahan made her presence felt with a goal to extend UF’s lead to 3-0.

Navy (4-1) celebrated its first goal of the game just nine seconds later when midfielder Kayla Harris caught goalkeeper Haley Hicklen out of her net.

Up to this point in the season, Mardiney had recorded four assists, all of which were to Ronbeck. But the freshman assisted two goals from sophomore midfielder Shannon Kavanagh in the first half.

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The Midshipmen scored two consecutive goals to end the first half but still trailed 6-4.

A 2-0 run from Florida to start the second half caused Timchal to call a timeout, which allowed Navy to regroup.

Hicklen retrieved the ball from the back of her net just 43 seconds later when midfielder Annalise Heyward scored off of a deflection, which left Hicklen rooted to the ground.

Another 2-0 run from the Gators forced Timchal into making a goalkeeping change down 10-5. Timchal brought in Young for Harchelroad, who went to the bench with a .444 save percentage.

Young played an instrumental role in her team’s comeback victory, saving four shots and posting a save percentage of .571 in nearly 16 minutes of action.

With under five minutes to go in the second half and losing 13-9, the Midshipmen embarked on a 5-0 run to sink the Gators 14-13.

Florida has now lost three consecutive games and will need to find answers quickly before traveling to North Carolina to face Elon.

 

Follow Bryan Matamoros on Twitter @bmatamoros_ or contact him at bmatamoros@alligator.org. 

 

UF midfielder scored just one goal in Florida's 14-13 loss to Navy in Annapolis, Maryland, on Saturday.

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