GAINESVILLE, Florida – The University of Florida soccer team and Kentucky tied 1-1 in double overtime Friday evening in front of 1,428 at the James G. Pressly Stadium.
| Friday's SEC Results |
| No. 12 Florida 1, RV Kentucky 1 2OT |
| Tennessee 1, Georgia 0 |
| Missouri 2, Mississippi 1 |
| Vanderbilt 0, LSU 0 2OT |
| No. 10 South Carolina 2, Arkansas 2 2OT |
| No. 16 Texas A&M 4, Mississippi State 0 |
| No. 8 Auburn 2, Alabama 1 2OT* |
| *played Thursday |
| |
After several near chances, Florida's goals and assists leaders connected to give the Gators a 1-0 halftime lead. Senior Christen Westphal's corner kick to the far post was headed in by Savannah Jordan in the 41st minute.
The Wildcats tied the match in the 49th minute. The play started when Michael Dooley sent the ball right for Kaitlin Miller making a run wide of the box. Miller's shot deflected off a player in the box and angled in at the upper far corner.
There was no lack of attempts for another Gator goal Friday, as Florida outshot the Wildcats 27-6. Jordan tried to end the match in the second overtime, but her shot hit the far post. For the match, the Gators hit the post or crossbar twice and the Wildcats drew the crossbar once.
Freshman goalkeeper Kaylan Marckese came up with two of her four saves in the first overtime. She pushed Courtney Raetzman's shot wide of the far post for a corner kick two minutes into the first overtime. On that corner kick, Marckese made the save on Payton Atkins' header.
Worth Noting:
· Jordan leads the Gators with 13 goals, while Westphal upped her team-leading assists total to seven.
· This is the third tie in the 26 all-time meetings between the two programs. Florida owns a 19-4-3 advantage in that series and is now 9-0-2 versus the Wildcats in Gainesville.
· This was Florida's first tie in regular-season action since Sept. 15, 2013 at South Florida (1-1 2OT). The Gators tied twice in 2014, with both coming in tournament play (1-1 2OT vs Tennessee in SEC Tournament; 2-2 2OT at Stanford in NCAA Quarterfinals).
· Three of the six Southeastern Conference matches played tonight ended in ties. Besides the UK at UF result, No. 10 South Carolina and Arkansas tied 2-2 2OT and Vanderbilt at LSU ended in a scoreless tie.
Records:
Florida: 8-3-1, 2-2-1 SEC
Kentucky: 9-2-2, 3-1-1 SEC
What the Gators Said:
About today's match
“I thought we played great. I was really pleased with our defensive effort, which was something we spent a lot of time on this week. On the negative side I think the whole match we could have had some more patience in the final third. I think it was a dominating performance by the Gators.” – Florida head coach Becky Burleigh
On what the team was thinking going into overtime
“We were going to win. Let's pass our way in, let's take advantage of opportunities. I mean we hit the post, they saved one off the line. Credit the goalkeeper for making some good saves in the play of the game. I think we dominated all phases of the game.” - – Florida head coach Becky Burleigh
What were you most pleased and most disappointed with?
“Our defensive effort and the way we really played on their half. We took advantage of pressing them as much as we could. My only disappointment is that we got a little impatient around the box. We served a lot of balls in that they just cleared, where I think we could have passed some balls in that would be more effective.” – Florida head coach Becky Burleigh
On the match, was it frustrating?
“It's definitely frustrating because before the game we harped on outworking them. I feel like in our past losses, they outworked us. It didn't come down to execution, it came down to hard work. We wanted to establish that were also a really hardworking team. It's really hard to end with that result especially with how much effort we put into that game, and how much heart and soul we put into the game. Every single teammate from the bench to the coaches, so it's definitely a hard result.” – senior defender Christen Westphal
On atmosphere going into overtime
“We kind of just wanted to stick to how we play. We thought that if we passed it and we continued to play our game that we would get one. We didn't want to put extra pressure on us, that doesn't benefit us. So we just wanted to play the way we know how. We had our opportunities and it just felt like the goal was shrinking slowly and slowly. Just not our night to score.” – senior defender Christen Westphal
On tonight's match, frustrating match
“It is really frustrating. We all gave it 100 percent and we were just unlucky at the end. We had chance after chance, and it just hit off the post, or a little bit wide. It's just an unlucky game, but I feel like we can learn from it, fight even harder and execute even better the next game.” senior defender Lauren Smith
On tonight's match
“I think that after last week's loss at Auburn, we definitely prepared this week and we came out with a lot of passion and heart today. I'm really proud of our team for that - I couldn't ask for a better effort. Sometimes it doesn't go the way you want on the goal side of it. I think it was improvement from last week. Kentucky's defense is always good and they did a good job keeping it out of their goal. I think their goal keeper made some key plays for them.” – junior forward Savannah Jordan
On Florida's goal and the chances that didn't go in
“Christen [Westphal] served a fantastic ball in and I just attacked it.
“I think we were a little unfortunate around the goal, but I think again that something we can build off of. And next time we'll put some away.” – junior forward Savannah Jordan
Preseason Conference Votes:
Florida was second in the 2014 Southeastern Conference final standings with a 9-2 record. Kentucky was third in 2014 SEC action with an 8-3 record.
Florida – The Gators are picked to win the 2015 Southeastern Conference title. Currently, UF is seventh in the SEC standings with a 2-2-1 league record.
Kentucky – The Wildcats are picked to finish 10th in the SEC in 2015. Through Oct., 2 play, Kentucky is tied for third in league standings with its 3-1-1 record.
Rankings:
Florida is ranked No. 12 on the September 29 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll and Kentucky is receiving votes.
Next up:
Florida travels to Knoxville, Tennessee, to face the Tennessee Vols on Friday, Oct. 9. The Vols were 1-0 winners over Georgia Friday.
The match will be streamed on SEC Network + and can be heard on GatorZone.com.
No. 12 Florida (8-3-1, 2-2-1 SEC) versus Kentucky (9-2-2, 3-1-1 SEC)
Stadium: James G. Pressly Stadium (1,428)
Weather: 72 degrees, 90% humidity, winds 7 MPH NNE
| Goals by Period | 1 | 2 | OT | OT2 | Total |
| Kentucky | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Florida | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Scoring Summary:
`
Shots: Kentucky 6; Florida 27
Saves: Florida 4 (Kaylan Marckese 4); Kentucky 14 (Katelyn Jensen 13, Team 1)
Yellow card: Zoe Swift/UK (43:50); Savannah Jordan/UF (103:04)
