Florida’s soccer team was in the midst of a six-game winning streak before Ole Miss came to Gainesville and took down the Gators on Thursday. It was UF’s first loss since Sept. 8 when it fell to Central Florida in the sixth fixture of the season.
Ole Miss midfielder Haleigh Stackpole took a Rebels free kick and placed a perfectly curved cross to the skull of forward Molly Martin. Martin tapped it up and over Susi Espinoza, whose glove was just out of reach, and the ball softly rolled into the net.
Six straight wins.
Losing four out of six games to begin the season made it seem like Florida’s soccer team would go the entire 2019-20 campaign unranked. But UF has caught fire as of late, and the United Soccer Coaches’ Poll has started to take notice.
Forward Cassidy Lindley needed just one touch. And forward Madison Alexander played her a perfect ball to the right side of the 18, and Lindley got a step on Vanderbilt’s backline.
Florida’s soccer team was held scoreless in last season’s meeting against Missouri.
Florida’s soccer team opened up its 2019 conference grind much later than expected.
The Florida soccer team’s confidence has grown rapidly over the past week.
Cassidy Lindley, Deanne Rose and Lauren Evans picked up the cooler full of ice and water while coach Becky Burleigh was speaking to the SEC Network for a post game interview. The three players lifted the cooler, took Burleigh’s headset off and gave her a celebratory shower.
Florida’s soccer team began the 2019-20 campaign with five straight games on the road over a 16-day span. In that period, the Gators suffered three consecutive defeats to ranked opponents and lost junior forward Deanne Rose to a hamstring injury against then-No.5 Southern California on Aug. 29.
Redshirt junior midfielder Parker Roberts stepped up to the penalty spot and saw someone she hadn’t seen all night: backup Florida State goalkeeper Brooke Bollinger.
Florida’s soccer team returned from Los Angeles late Sunday night after a winless weekend. Then-No. 1 Florida State was in LA as well over the weekend and left with two losses against UCLA and Southern California.
One team had just lost to the No. 5-ranked USC Trojans. The other had just beaten the No.1-ranked Florida State Seminoles.
Coach Becky Burleigh and Florida’s soccer team have struggled against USC in recent years. They came out victorious in the first three meetings between the two powerhouses but lost the next two by a combined score of 4-0.
Florida’s soccer team is in the middle of a five-match road trip. This stretch features five top 25 opponents, three top 5 opponents and a contest against the No. 1 Florida State Seminoles.
Junior forward Deanne Rose played in only 10 out of the 21 games for Florida’s soccer team in the 2018-19 campaign. She recorded two goals while playing 718 minutes last year due to national team commitments with Canada.
Florida soccer coach Becky Burleigh still has a plethora of weapons at her disposal this season despite losing 11 seniors, including four that started in the 1-0 overtime loss against Arkansas in the SEC Tournament semifinals that ended Florida’s 2018-19 campaign.
Florida’s soccer team had a disappointing 2018-19 campaign. The Gators made it to the NCAA quarterfinals in 2017 but finished with a losing record for the first time in program history last year.
Solutions by The State News
