STARKVILLE, Miss. – Multiple goals by juniors
Abby Wambach and
Andi Sellers led the No. 23 University of Florida soccer team to a 5-0 win over Mississippi State Friday afternoon in front of 387 fans at the MSU Soccer Field. The Gators now move to 9-6 overall, 5-0 in the Southeastern Conference, while the Bulldogs drop to 5-10, 1-4 in the SEC.
Wambach provided the Gators' scoring for the opening half. She hit the short shot at 18:45 off the assist from freshman
Crystal Frimpong. Then she hit a header off Kristen Fisher's long serve at 27:10 to give the Gators the 2-0 halftime lead. Wambach got the final goal of the match at 78:15, scoring on a flying header set up by
Danielle Murphy's long serve into the box. The hat-trick was the fourth of Wambach's career and her first of the 2000 season. Her last three-goal match was Nov. 5, 1999 vs. Vanderbilt in an SEC Tournament semifinal match.
Sellers turned in two second-half goals for UF. She scored the first at 51:31, hitting a six-yard shot off the cross from freshman
Robin Fulton. Sellers found the back of the net again at 57:23, again hitting a short shot off the long through ball by Wambach.
"It was good to get the shutout and great that everyone had the opportunity to play," UF Head Coach
Becky Burleigh said, who was celebrating her 33
rd birthday Friday. "We also scored some great goals today."
The Gators continue their stretch of SEC road matches on Sunday when they meet Mississippi on Oct. 15 in Oxford, Miss., at 2 p.m. (ET).
Oct. 13, 2000
