COLUMBIA, Mo. – Florida soccer dropped a 5-2 decision to Missouri Sunday afternoon at the Audrey J. Walton Soccer Stadium. It was the final match of 2020 Southeastern Conference regular-season action for both teams.
 
Sunday's scoring:
The earliest Gator goal of 2020 started when Alivia Gonzalez, running down the left sideline, sent the ball to the top of the six-yard box. Nicole Vernis got a touch on the ball, shielded off her defender and put it in at 3:40.
 
Parker Roberts' clearance attempt on a Tiger free kick came off the back of her head and scored as an own goal in the 10th minute to even the match.
 
Bella Alessi put the Tigers ahead in the 16^th minute. She brought the ball into the right side of the box and scored on a 17-yard left-footed strike.
 
MU's Cassidy Nurnberger won the ball above the Gator box and immediately took a 25-yard strike. Her shot hit the crossbar and kicked in at 29:54.
 
Alessi scored her second goal at 61:44. Julissa Cisneros sent a searching ball into the box that Alessi caught up to, scoring with a right-footed six-yard shot.
 
Nurnberger scored her second goal off a corner kick sent in by Hannah Joella. She struck the ball at the top of the box off a volley to finish the Tigers' scoring in the 70th minute.
 
Gonzalez added a goal to her assist in the 76^th minute. Parker Roberts sent a diagonal ball into the box. Gonzalez just beat her marker to score from six yards.
 
Worth Noting:

• With her goal today at 3:40, Nicole Vernis has Florida earliest and second earliest goals of 2020 season. Her first collegiate goal at South Carolina at 9:02 is now No. 2 on UF's 2020 goals scored list.
• This is the third win all-time for Missouri in the 13-match all-time series. All three MU wins have come in Columbia, Mo.
• Today's result sets Florida's record for consecutive losses at six.
• Freshman Alexa Goldberg made her first collegiate start today in goal. With Florida's seeding set for the SEC Tournament, the Florida coaching staff saw this as an opportunity to give Goldberg some additional match experience.
• All SEC teams began the season looking to play eight matches in league regular-season action. Missouri and Georgia are the only teams to only play seven matches. Those two teams were to meet Friday, but it was cancelled due to COVID-19 impacting the Georgia team.

What Becky Burleigh Said:
After today's result:
"As much as this one hurt, we are going to have to find a way to get past it and draw a line under it, as we have to prepare for the SEC Tournament that begins Friday.
 
"It will be up to us to find our way back to a winning mentality and it will take all of us together to do it." - Florida Head Coach Becky Burleigh

Records:
Florida: 1-6-1, 1-6-1 SEC
Missouri: 3-2-2, 3-2-2 SEC
 
All-Time Series Record:
Florida leads 8-3-2
 
Next Up:
The Southeastern Conference Tournament makes its final appearance in Orange Beach, Ala., site of the tournament every year but one since 2003.
 
The Gators open SEC Tournament action on Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET. The match airs live on the SEC Network.
 
2020 SEC Tournament Interactive Bracket
 
Florida (1-6-1, 1-6-1 SEC) at Missouri (3-2-2, 3-2-2 SEC)
Stadium: Audrey J. Walton Soccer Stadium
Weather: 71 degrees, 15 mph SSE winds, clear
 

Goals by Period	1	2	Total
Florida	1	1	2
Missouri	3	2	5

 
Scoring Summary:

No.	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist
1.	3:40	UF	Nicole Vernis	Alivia Gonzalez
2.	7:56	MU	Own Goal
3.	15:37	MU	Bella Alessi
4.	29:54	MU	Cassidy Nurnberger
5.	61:44	MU	Bella Alessi.	Julissa Cisneros
6.	69:14	MU	Cassidy Nurnberger	Hannah Joella
7.	75:58	UF	Alivia Gonzalez	Parker Roberts

 
Shots: Florida 17, Missouri 25
Saves: Florida 2 (Alexa Goldberg 6), Missouri 9 (McKenna Sheehan 1; Sophia Worth 8 )
 
Cautions: Morcquess Oliphant-MU/yellow (34:32); Hannah Joella-MU/yellow (72:56)