Soccer - The Independent Florida Alligator

Florida goalie Susi Espinoza has only allowed 14 goals in 12 games this season. She currently averages 1.16 goals against per game and carries an 8-4 record.

Sports

Gators move inside the top 20 after being unranked all season

By Graham Marsh | Oct. 8, 2019

Six straight wins.

Defender Kit Loferski (6) drew a penalty kick in the seventh minute of Florida’s 3-1 win over Texas A&M Sunday night. Midfielder Madison Alexander buried the shot to get the Gators on the board first.

Sports

Florida defeats 12th-ranked Texas A&M in statement win

By Bryan Matamoros | Oct. 6, 2019

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.

Defender Kit Loferski (6) is tied for fourth on the team in goals (2) and leads the team in assists (4).

Sports

Florida back on track

By Graham Marsh | Sep. 30, 2019

Fifty-three votes.

Gators forward Cassidy Lindley scored Florida’s one and only goal Sunday against Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee. It was Lindley’s third goal of the season, the third-most on Florida’s roster behind Vanessa Kara (6) and Deanne Rose (4).

Sports

UF edges Vanderbilt 1-0 in Nashville, expands win streak to 5

By Graham Marsh | Sep. 29, 2019

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.

Forward Vanessa Kara scored the first goal against the Tigers Thursday night. It was her sixth goal in the last four matches.

Sports

Florida holds off Missouri for second victory in SEC play

By Bryan Matamoros | Sep. 26, 2019

Florida’s soccer team was held scoreless in last season’s meeting against Missouri.

Forward Vanessa Kara scored the first two goals Thursday night in Florida’s 3-0 win against LSU.

Sports

Gators trounce LSU in conference opener

By Jordan Perez | Sep. 19, 2019

Florida’s soccer team opened up its 2019 conference grind much later than expected.

Forward Vanessa Kara earned SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors on Monday.

Sports

Pair of Gators will be key as team opens conference play

By Bryan Matamoros | Sep. 18, 2019

The Florida soccer team’s confidence has grown rapidly over the past week.

Sports

Gators defeat Miami, back at .500

By Graham Marsh | Sep. 15, 2019

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.

The Gators take on FGCU Thursday after losing four straight games. It's the first of two unranked matchups for UF this weekend.

Sports

UF has the chance to rebound

By Graham Marsh | Sep. 10, 2019

Four straight losses.

Sports

UCF spoils Florida’s home opener, 2-0

By Bryan Matamoros | Sep. 8, 2019

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.

Sports

Gators fall to FSU after missed penalty kick

By Bryan Matamoros | Sep. 6, 2019

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.

Junior forward Deanne Rose exited Thursday night's game against USC with a hamstring injury. Her status for tonight's game is unclear. She leads the team with three goals.

Sports

Gators travel to Tallahassee to face No. 6 FSU

By Graham Marsh | Sep. 5, 2019

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.

Sports

Florida falls to UCLA 2-0, leaving Los Angeles winless

By Graham Marsh | Sep. 1, 2019

One team had just lost to the No. 5-ranked USC Trojans. The other had just beaten the No.1-ranked Florida State Seminoles.

Sports

Florida suffers first loss of the season to fifth-ranked USC

By Bryan Matamoros | Aug. 30, 2019

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.

UF forward Deanne Rose scored three goals in the Gators' first two games. She only played in 10 games in 2018 due to her obligations to the Canadian national team.

Sports

Gators head to Los Angeles to play two top 5 opponents

By Graham Marsh | Aug. 27, 2019

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.

Forward Deanne Rose (21) scored two goals in Florida's season-opening win over FAU, including the overtime winner.

Sports

UF defeats FAU in rainy overtime thriller

By Bryan Matamoros | Aug. 23, 2019

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.

$Redshirt junior midfielder Parker Roberts missed most of last season with a foot fracture. She's expected to play a key role on the Gators' team this fall. Roberts earned First Team All-SEC honors in 2017.$

Sports

Florida travels to South Florida for season opener against FAU

By Bryan Matamoros | Aug. 22, 2019

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.

UF coach Becky Burleigh knows her team is in for a challenging season with one of the hardest schedules in the nation.

Sports

Gators gear up for a challenging 2019-20 season

By Bryan Matamoros | Aug. 19, 2019

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.

Florida soccer coach Becky Burleigh said she wasn't satisfied with her team's effort in Saturday's preseason exhibition match at Wake Forest. It led 2-1 in the 85th minute but lost 3-2. The Gators begin the 2019 season on Friday night at FAU.

Sports

Wake Forest bests Florida 3-2 with two late goals

By Graham Marsh | Aug. 18, 2019

Twenty six players.

Havana Solaun, pictured in 2014, scored Jamaica's first-ever World Cup goal in a loss to Australia. Solaun played for UF from 2011-2014.

Sports

Solaun's historic goal highlights Gators at World Cup

By Joseph Salvador | July 8, 2019

One current Gator and three former UF soccer players represented their countries at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which concluded on Sunday with a victory for the United States.