Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A goal in each half gave No. 9 Tennessee soccer a 2-0 win over Florida Thursday evening at the Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
 
Thursday's Scoring:
Tennessee scored its earliest goal of 2018 in the second minute when Meghan Flynn's horizontal pass through the box found the right foot of Danielle Marcano making a far post run.
 
The Vols pushed the lead out to 2-0 in the 57^th minute when Claire Franks tapped the ball ahead to Erin Gilroy located just above the six-yard box. Gilroy took a touch to her right before scoring on a right-footed shot.  
 
The Gators took a 13-10 advantage in shots Thursday but the finishing touch evaded them. Some of the better opportunities included Mayra Pelayo's shot off the pass from Sara Wilson banging off the crossbar in the 23^rd minute and Wilson's centering pass in the 58^th minute that was covered by UT goalkeeper Shae Yanez just before Sarah Troccoli could get a touch.

National Team Duties:

• Three were not with their teams due to national team commitments. Florida sophomore Deanne Rose is with the Canada Senior National Team for CONCACAF play, which serves as a qualifier for the FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019. Canada opens play in Edinburg, Texas, on Oct. 5 versus Jamaica. The Jamaican roster includes reigning SEC Offensive Player of the Week – Tennessee senior Bunny Shaw. Gator freshman Georgia Eaton-Collins joined England for Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Under-19 Championships. England opened play Monday with 9-0 win versus Malta and defeated Croatia 8-0 earlier today. Eaton-Collins played the entirety of both wins. England meets Slovakia Sunday.

Hear from the Gators:
Thoughts on the game after Tennessee's quick first goal…
"I think they [the Gators] did really well to move past that first goal. I thought the rest of the half we really took them a part a little bit. I think the disappointing, frustrating thing is obviously is that score doesn't reflect what that game looked like. But in the end, the score matters. And we just have to be better at finishing at our chances. It's wasn't a lack of creation of chances, it was just a lack of being able to stick it. They were very efficient at finishing their chances, we were very inefficient at finishing our chances." – Florida Head Coach Becky Burleigh

On Tennessee's defense:"I think we made it a little bit easy for them. Our chances weren't very clinical, we put them right at the keeper or over the bar. I think that you have to credit their defense, obviously they did a great job." – Florida Head Coach Becky Burleigh
 
On tonight's match…
"It's definitely a tough night. Tennessee's always a tough team to play. But Becky said it at the end of the game, I don't know if the result is how the game actually went. We had a lot of chances that we didn't finish. So it's just a tough loss." – senior midfielder Sarah Troccoli
 
On responding to Tennessee's quick goal in the first half…
"We actually responded really well to the first goal. We just got to put a way our chances the next few games." - senior midfielder Sarah Troccoli
 
On missing Deanne Rose and Georgia Eaton-Collins…
"We always miss them. They are both two quality players. But the good thing about this team is we have a lot of depth. And D and Georgia always help. But like I said, we're just missing that last pass." - senior midfielder Sarah Troccoli
 
Can you talk about the play a little bit?
"I would say that as a team, we worked really hard. It just came down to execution, and today Tennessee was able to execute better than we were. It is something we need to work and focus on when we have those opportunities to finish." – junior defender Sammie Better
What was it like playing against Tennessee's defense; they have only let up 4 goals the entire year?
"They are a good team, I respect them, but I thing we did a good job breaking them down and getting into the box and getting opportunities. We got past them, but we could not get that last act." – junior defender Sammie Better
What did that goal in the second minute do for the game?
Honestly, I believe we responded well, and we did a good job controlling the half after that for the most part. I thought it was really impressive thing to see our team turn around and control the tempo after a goal like that because a lot of teams would shut down early and we did not. I think you can see we kept fighting." – junior defender Sammie Betters
You play the defending SEC champions next. Will the team respond?
"I would say something cool about this team is that when we are presented with challenges like that - obviously we have been presented with adversity this season - we are not scared of it. Instead we get excited and we get worked up for it in a good way. It's an opportunity to play these good teams. We have had a good schedule so far and it is cool to play these good teams because I think we are up to the challenge." – junior defender Sammie Betters


2018 Records:
Florida: 4-7-2, 2-2-2 SEC
UT: 10-1, 4-1 SEC
 
Series Record:
Florida leads 18-9-3
 
Next Up:
Florida play versus nationally ranked teams continues Sunday at No. 12 South Carolina. The Gamecocks took a 1-0 win at Georgia Thursday evening.
 

• 3 p.m. ET – Eugene E. Stone III Stadium
• SEC Network
• Audio available on GatorVision.com

 
Tennessee (10-1, 4-1 SEC) at Florida (4-7-2, 2-2-1 SEC)
Donald R. Dizney Stadium (525)
Weather: 86 degrees, winds ENE 8 mph, 56% humidity
 

Goals by Period	1	2	Total
Tennessee	1	1	2
Florida	0	0	0

 
Scoring Summary:

No.	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Description
1.	1:18	UT	Danielle Marcano	Meghan Flynn, Erin Gilroy	5yd shot at far post
2.	56:16	UT	Erin Gilroy	Claire Franks	6yd shot

 
Shots: UT 10, UF 13
Saves: UT 6 (Shae Yanez 6), UF 4 (Kaylan Marckese 4)