No. 11 South Carolina Soccer Defeats Florida 4-2

Sunday, October 25

Columbia, SC

2 PM

Florida Gators

1-3-1, 1-3-1

South Carolina

5-1-0, 3-1-0

Florida

South Carolina

Two Gators scored their first collegiate goals in Sunday's 4-2 loss at No. 11 South Carolina - Nicole Vernis (above left) and Tori Grambo.

No. 11 South Carolina Soccer Defeats Florida 4-2

Sunday, October 25, 2020 | Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Mary Howard

COLUMBIA, S.C. – A short-handed Florida soccer team lost 4-2 at No. 11 South Carolina Sunday afternoon at the Eugene E. Stone III Stadium.

The Gators left several key players – and their head coach – in Gainesville due to injuries or COVID-19 protocol. In addition to Becky Burleigh, the following players were unavailable Sunday – Carina Baltrip-Reyes, Georgia Eaton-Collins, Ashlyn Kane, Ava Kuyken, Kit Loferski, Kouri Peace and Deanne Rose.

Sunday's scoring:
South Carolina scored in the sixth minute with a Sutton Jones near post header off a Jyllissa Harris corner kick.

Gator redshirt freshman Nicole Vernis tied the match at 9:02 with her first collegiate goal on Florida's first shot of the match. Madison Alexander sent the ball right to Cassidy Lindley making a run through the right side of the box. Lindley's cross found Vernis on the other side of the box where she placed it in with a 14-yard right footed shot.

USC's Samantha Chang, the reigning National Player of the Week, scored in the 21^st minute with a shot from the center that hit the crossbar to fall in.

A South Carolina corner kick in the 42^nd minute was headed three times before it came to Rylee Forster. Her right-footed volley shot scored from 15 yards to put the Gamecocks ahead for good.

Jones' second goal of the afternoon in the 67^th minute looked like her first – a near post header off a Chang corner kick.

Another Gator scored her first collegiate goal Sunday. Laney Steed headed a Gamecock throw-in deep in the USC half toward the top of the box. Freshman Tori Grambo jumped on the Gamecock's clearance attempt and then took four touches as she headed toward the top of the box. Her left-footed strike from 19 yards hit the far post to kick in with 22 seconds remaining.

Worth Noting:

Two Gators made their first collegiate starts Sunday – Taylor Baksay and Nicole Vernis. Two others played their first Gator minutes at South Carolina – Anna DeLeon and Alexa Goldberg.
South Carolina's Shelley Smith earned her 300^th head coaching win Sunday (300-153-50/24 seasons)

Records:
Florida: 1-3-1, 1-3-1 SEC
South Carolina: 5-1-0, 5-1-0 SEC

All-Time Series Record:
Florida leads 22-10-2

What Becky Burleigh Said:
On today's match:
"Congrats to Shelley [Smith – South Carolina's head coach] on her 300th win. She's a class act."

"Clearly had an issue defending corners and USC exposed that. We will work on that going forward. Felt good about our ability in the run of play but we aren't here for moral victories." – Florida Head Coach Becky Burleigh

Next Up:
Florida returns home to play host to Tennessee for the Gators final home action of 2020. The match moved up a day to Friday, Oct. 30 due to rescheduling of the Florida-Missouri football game to Oct. 31.

                Florida vs. Tennessee
                When: 6 p.m. ET / Oct. 30
                Site: Donald R. Dizney Stadium
Video: SEC Network +

Florida (1-3-1, 1-2-1 SEC) at No. 11 South Carolina (5-1, 5-1 SEC)
Stadium: Eugene E. Stone III Stadium (349)
Weather: 72 degrees, 6 mph NNE winds, rain at beginning

Goals by Period	1	2	Total
Florida	1	1	2
South Carolina	3	1	4

Scoring Summary:

No.	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist
1.	5:13	USC	Sutton Jones	Jyllissa Harris
2.	9:02	UF	Nicole Vernis	Cassidy Lindley, Madison Alexander
3.	20:14	USC	Samantha Chang	Anna Patten
4.	41:54	USC	Rylee Forster	Hallie Meadows
5.	66:55	USC	Sutton Jones	Samantha Chang
5.	89:38	UF	Tori Grambo

Shots: Florida 10, South Carolina 15
Saves: Florida 0 (Susi Espinoza 0; Alexa Goldberg 0), South Carolina 3 (Heather Hintz 3)

Cautions: Cameron Hall-UF – 58:21/yellow