Florida Gators

COLUMBIA, South Carolina – A second-half comeback by the University of Florida soccer team wasn't enough as the Gators lost 3-2 to South Carolina in front of 1,733 at the Eugene E. Stone III Stadium Thursday evening. The result ended Florida's win streak at seven.

The Gamecocks took advantage of a pair of errant Gator backline passes to open up a 2-0 halftime lead. USC's Chelsea Drennan pounced on a pass wide of the Florida box, drove toward goal and scored on a right-footed shot to the near post at 1:53.

South Carolina pushed the lead out to 2-0 in the 34th minute after taking advantage of a Florida backline pass that was wide of its intended receiver. Sophie Groff sent the ball she intercepted to Savannah McCaskill, who scored from 14-yards to the far post.

Florida cut the lead in half in the 66^th minute when Havana Solaun scored her third goal of the season. Tessa Andujar moved along the end line and her shot from 12 yards skimmed along the cross bar. When it came off the cross bar, the ball was still in play and Solaun gathered it up as it bounced along the end line. She brought the ball toward goal and then blasted a shot to the far upper corner.

Solaun's second goal in the 85^th minute tied the match at 2-all. Sophomore Meggie Dougherty Howard stepped in to intercept a Gamecock throw-in at the USC defensive third. She moved toward the center and sent the ball to Annie Speese above the middle of the box. Speese took a touch before sending it to her left to Solaun in the box. Solaun took a touch toward the center and then sent a right-footed shot to the far corner from 10 yards. It was her first double-goal match of the season and the fifth of her career.

The game-winning goal was set up by a Gamecock corner kick with less than two minutes left in regulation. USC's McCaskill headed in the ball from Chelsea Drennan at 88:08 to give USC the win.

2014 Records:

Florida: 11-3, 6-1 SEC

South Carolina: 10-4-1, 3-3-1 SEC

What Becky Burleigh Said:

About tonight's performance:

“It was tough to go down early and that is something we need to fix because that is now two games in a row. But I loved our resilience in the second half to fight back to get two goals to even it up. I think the disappointing part was the way we lost, giving up a goal on a set piece in the end there. Credit South Carolina for finishing that. We've got to get sharper at defending set pieces. Again, something we've been spending some time on but we can get better at and it is better for that to happen now.” – Florida head coach Becky Burleigh

What is the team's mindset after the loss?

“We talk about how one game – whether it is win, loss or tie – doesn't define our season. We look at all of this as an opportunity to grow. I think our team will show some resilience after this loss because they are a mature team and they are going to grow from this. I'm very confident of that.” – Florida head coach Becky Burleigh

Havana Solaun doubled her season goals total tonight with two in the second half:

“I am always happy to see Havana shoot. That is something we keep encouraging her to do and she certainly made an impact on those two shots. Those were awesome.” – Florida head coach Becky Burleigh

Worth Noting
● Solaun has had at least one double-goal match each of her four collegiate seasons.

● Her two goals tonight doubles Solaun's season total. She now shares second among the Gators in both points (13) and in total goals (4).

● In the four previous regular-season meetings between these two teams, the win went to the visiting team. Tonight's win is the first for the home team since the Gators won 3-0 in Gainesville in 2009.

● The three goals scored by the Gamecocks tonight is the most ever in the all-time 26-match series.

● Florida is now 20-5-1 all-time versus the Gamecocks, including 8-2-1 in Columbia.

● For the second consecutive match, the Gators fell behind on a goal scored with less than two minutes played. Today, the Gamecocks scored at 1:53. Last Friday, Mississippi State scored their only goal in 5-1 UF win at 1:17.

● This was the second time this season Florida trailed by two goals and the first time UF was behind by that margin in the opening half. The Gators allowed Oklahoma a goal in each half of Florida's 2-1 loss at Norman, Oklahoma, on Aug. 29.

● Senior outside back Lauren Silver was not with the Gators Thursday, as she started for Jamaica in a 6-0 win over Martinique in CONCACAF group play today at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

Preseason Conference Votes:

Florida shared the 2013 Southeastern Conference title with Texas A&M as each team posted 9-2 league records. South Carolina finished third in the SEC with an 8-2-1 record.

Florida – The Gators are picked to win the Southeastern Conference.

South Carolina – The Gamecocks are picked to take third in the SEC.

Rankings:

Florida is ranked No. 5 on the eighth National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll.

Next up:

The Gators continue SEC road play with a match at Kentucky on Sunday, Oct. 20 at 4 p.m. That match airs live on the SEC Network (Gainesville/Ocala Cox cable 68 of 1068) and can be seen on WatchESPN.

The Wildcats are 8-5 overall and 3-3 in the SEC. Senior Arin Gilliland, a finalist for the 2013 MAC Hermann Trophy, leads the Wildcats with 20 points off of six goals and eight assists. UK goalkeeper Taylor Braum is the current College Sports Madness National Defensive Player of the Week and the SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week.

Listen to Matthew Stubbington's call of the match at GatorZone.com.

Florida (11-3-0, 6-1-0 SEC) vs South Carolina (10-4-1, 3-3-1 SEC)

Stadium: Stone Stadium (1,733)

Scoring Summary

Shots: Florida 11, South Carolina 12

 Saves: Florida 1 (Taylor Burke 1) , South Carolina 4 (Sabrina D'angelo 4)