GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The fourth-ranked Florida soccer team opened its season and NCAA title defense with a 5-1 victory over Florida State on Friday night in front of 4,745 fans at Percy Beard Stadium.
The game was marred by a two hour and 33 minute rain delay that featured thunder and lightening. Play stopped with 1:03 remaining in the first half. When play resumed at 10:30 p.m., the teams finished the first half and immediately moved to the second stanza.
The Gators opened up the scoring only 56 seconds into the game when senior forward and captain
Sarah Yohe (Maitland, Fla./ Winter Park) scored on a 12-yard shot from center on a pass from freshman midfielder
Danielle Murphy (Riverhead Sevenoaks, England/ Beaverwood). The lead was lengthened to two when senior forward
Abby Wambach (Pittsford, N.Y./ Our Lady of Mercy) scored on a six-yard shot off a give-and-go from sophomore
midfielder Karyn Hall (Winter Springs, Fla./ Ovieda) in the eighth minute of play.
In the second half, Florida broke the game wide open with goals from sophomore forward
Andi Sellers (Satellite Beach, Fla./ Satellite) at the 67
th minute, Wambach at the 70
th minute, and freshman midfielder
Erica Schubert (Delran, N.J.) at the 78
th minute. Schubert's goal was the first of her career.
Florida State got on the board in the 87
th minute when
junior April Murphy (Tulsa, Okla./ Jenks) scored an unassisted goal. It was FSU's first goal scored in five meetings against Florida.
Florida Head Coach
Becky Burleigh was satisfied with her team's performance. "It's all that you can expect from a first game … It gives us something to work on and it gives us something to be excited about," said Burleigh.
The Gators will look to go 2-0 on the young season, when they host Central Florida at Percy Beard Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Kick-off will be at 2 p.m.
