The Florida soccer team found its first victory in the post-Becky Burleigh era on Thursday.
New head coach Tony Amato, the second leader in program history, helped the Gators to a 2-1 exhibition match win versus Southern Miss in Orange Beach, Alabama.
The Eagles scored first in the 33rd minute of the exhibition and held the lead heading into halftime.
Junior forward Kouri Peace swooped in to score the Gators first goal to tie the game in the 67th minute of regulation on an assist from redshirt sophomore midfielder Nicole Vernis.
In the second half, graduate student forward Madison Alexander came in clutch with a second Florida goal on a penalty kick in the 78th minute to give the team a one-goal advantage they held to the game’s conclusion.
Seven freshmen made their Gators debut in the exhibition game: Riley Thompson, Amaya Simoni-Walters, Madeline Pirrello, Madison Young, Oakley Rasmussen, Sophie White and Jlo Varada.
Florida is set to play against USF on Aug, 19 at 7 p.m. in Tampa, Florida for its season opener..
Contact Faith Buckley at fbuckley@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @_faithbuckley.
Faith is a third-year journalism student specializing in sports media. She hopes to one day work as a play-by-play announcer for the National Hockey League.
