Florida Gators

NORMAN, Okla. – A 2-0 Oklahoma lead was too much for Florida to overcome, as the Gators first appearance in the Sooner State ended with a 2-1 loss to the Sooners Friday evening at the John Crain Field at the OU Soccer Complex.

The Sooners scored early in the match in the sixth minute when Caren Nelson's pass found Tori Bowman in the box. Bowman sent the ball over to Rachel Ressler just above the penalty box where she one-touched it into the far corner.

Gators allowed the Sooners a penalty kick in the 63rd minute after Pamela BEGIĆ was whistled for a foul. Abby Hodgen successfully converted the kick to give the Sooners a 2-0 lead.

A pair of Gator sophomores teamed up to find the net in the 72^nd minute. Meggie Dougherty-Howard carved her way through the box and sent the ball to Savannah Jordan. Her shot hit the near post and kicked in for Jordan's second goal of the season.

With three minutes left, Christen Westphal got forward from her backline spot and continued her run into the box. She had a shot, then fought through the traffic for another attempt but couldn't get enough on the ball to put it past the keeper. It was the final quality opportunity for the Gators to find the equalizer.

Records:

Florida (2-1, 0-0 SEC); Oklahoma (2-0-1, 0-0 Big12).

The Series:

Florida is now 1-1 versus Oklahoma. The two teams met for the first time in Gainesville in 2013.

What They Said:

What will the team take from this loss?

“I think that is good for us to learn from – how to chase a game., I think Oklahoma did a really good job of putting numbers behind the ball when we were trying to chase and it made it difficult for us to get in behind them.

Early on they caught us with a lot of numbers in the box and we didn't do a good job of marking up in the box so there was a player free and that's how they scored. I didn't think they pressured us a whole lot but you have to appreciate the fact that they were pretty efficient with their opportunities.

“We talked about being on the road presents its own set of adversities. The good thing is the only way you can forge resilience is through adversity. So now we have a little adversity in front of us and it is time for us to show some resilience and bounce back.” – Florida coach Becky Burleigh – Florida coach Becky Burleigh

What led to the penalty kick?

“I think the player did a good job of getting in behind us and we sort of reached. When you are reaching for a ball in the penalty box, you are risking the potential of fouling and that's what happened.” – Florida coach Becky Burleigh

On the Gators' goal:

“It was a great combination play. Meggie (Dougherty-Howard) did a really good job to keep the ball alive. She made a great tackle in the midfield to win the ball and kept the ball alive. It was good combination play. The combination play was something I felt like if we have done more of we would have had more scoring opportunities but it is good to see we were able to that for the goal.” – Florida coach Becky Burleigh

On what the team needs to address defensively:

“I don't think we expected to go through the season without giving up a goal but any time we are giving up a goal or multiple goals in a game, that is something we want to address and fix. We need to do a better job of marking up in the box and making sure we cover one another defensively when a team is attacking so that we don't have to reach and create a foul.” – Florida coach Becky Burleigh

Worth Noting
The Sooner goals were the first scored against the Gators this season. Florida opened 2014 action with a 3-0 win versus Miami and a 2-0 victory versus South Florida.

Preseason Conference Votes:

Florida shared the 2013 Southeastern Conference title with Texas A&M as each team posted 9-2 league records. OU took seventh in the Big 12 Conference with its 1-7 league record.

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

OU – The Sooners are picked to finish ninth in Big 12 play in 2014. West Virginia is the preseason pick to win the Big 12.

Rankings:

Florida is ranked No. 6 on the first National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll.

Next up:

Florida continues its play in the Sooner State when it faces Oklahoma State on Sunday, Aug. 31 at 2 p.m. ET.

The Cowgirls (0-3, 0-0 Big 12) lost 2-1 in double overtime to No. 2 Florida State Friday evening at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex.

Sunday's match can be heard live on GatorZone.com. Video stream is available at OKState.TV (subscription service) or match statistics can be viewed on GameTracker.