The No. 8 University of Florida soccer team (10- 3-1, 5-1 SEC) lost 2-1 in overtime to No. 23 Tennessee (8-4, 4-1) Friday evening in front of a Tennessee Soccer Complex crowd of 710. The loss ends the Gators’ consecutive Southeastern Conference win streak at 50, which stands as the second- longest conference win streak in NCAA history. The Gators’ last loss vs. a SEC opponent came on Sept. 14, 1997 vs. Vanderbilt (2-0).
The No. 8 University of Florida soccer team (10-3-1, 5-1 SEC) lost 2-1 in overtime to No. 23 Tennessee (8-4, 4-1) Friday evening in front of a Tennessee Soccer Complex crowd of 710. The loss ends the Gators' consecutive Southeastern Conference win streak at 50, which stands as the second-longest conference win streak in NCAA history. The Gators' last loss vs. a SEC opponent came on Sept. 14, 1997 vs. Vanderbilt (2-0).
The game-winning goal came off an eight-yard shot by UT's Kim Patrick, set up by the left wing cross from Kayla Lockaby at 96:16.
"I think Tennessee played well. I thought they wanted more in the overtime period than we did. We just got too passive in the overtime period and allowed them to score the goal," UF Head Coach Becky Burleigh said. "The streak was never a big deal to us. We want to win every SEC game and we have that kind of focus for every SEC game."
The Lady Vols scored on their first possession of the match, as Lyndsey Patterson hit a 20-yard right shot to the upper corner of the far post just 29 seconds into the match. The goal was the quickest ever scored against the Gators in UF history, erasing the previous record of 37 seconds set by North Carolina's Rakel Karvelsson in 1997. Florida's Abby Wambach evened the score with her header off a Casey Hamel corner kick at 15:07.
The match was forced to overtime when neither team could put one in the goal during the second half. Florida freshman Christine Johnson has a great opportunity to put the Gators ahead in the 65th minute, but her eight-yard shot in the box banged straight down off the crossbar and was cleared off the line by a UT defender. The Lady Vols also had a last-second shot by Patterson sail over the crossbar as time expired.
For the match, Tennessee outshot the Gators 17-13. Florida goalkeeper Jordan Kellgren turned in six saves and UT's Cori Stevens posted eight saves.
The Gators continue their play on the road on Sunday, Oct. 21 at Georgia. Match time is set for 2:00 p.m. at the Georgia Soccer Stadium.
