Florida Claims Win at Arkansas

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No. 12 Florida Soccer Claims 1-0 Win at Arkansas

Boxscore

For the second consecutive Sunday, the Gator soccer team claimed a 1-0 road win as No. 12 University of Florida (13-4-2, 7-1-2 SEC) defeated Arkansas (8-6-4, 2-6-2 SEC) on an overcast Sunday afternoon at Razorback Field. The win, coupled with South Carolina’s loss at No. 17 LSU Sunday, puts UF first in the Southeastern Conference standings heading into its final match of the regular season Friday versus No. 10 South Carolina.

The only goal of the match came off of a set play. Lauren Hyde sent the ball in from 45 yards. Sarah Chapman flicked the ball on to the center of the box. With white shirts all around her, McKenzie Barney was able to get enough on the ball to find Lindsay Thompson to her right. Thompson placed the ball in from seven yards at 63:31.

 “Lauren had a free kick and she kicked it basically from the midfield to the box. Sarah did a good job of flicking it on and from there, McKenzie touched it and the ball was kind of bouncing around in front of the goal. I was unmarked and able to just shoot it in,” Thompson said.

The goal adds to her team leading total as Thompson now has nine goals in 2009.

Florida came into Sunday’s match second in the Southeastern Conference standings with 20 points, two points behind then-leader South Carolina. The Gators knew a win today was vital if they wanted to keep their hopes alive for a chance to claim their fourth consecutive league title. Teams receive three points for a win and ties are worth one point in the league standings. The win Sunday gives the Gators a one-point lead in the SEC standings heading into Friday’s match with No. 10 South Carolina in the regular-season finale for both teams.

“Glad to have a shutout, glad to have a win and we are looking forward to Friday night,” UF Head Coach Becky Burleigh said. “I think we could have made ourselves a little more comfortable if we didn’t hit the post so many times. All we were looking for is to get three points today – that’s what we were focused on and that’s what we got.

One of those shots off the post came in the 60^th minute when Angela Napolitano wheeled and took a 20-yard shot. The Gators’ best opportunity of the opening half came in the 30^th minute. A Gator cross found Natalia Torosian in a 1v1 opportunity in the middle of the box with Arkansas goalkeeper Britni Williams, but her shot was blocked by Williams.

The Razorbacks looked to score just as the opening half wound down. UA was awarded a free kick just a step above the box. As the final 10 seconds counted down, Katie Fraine needed to dive to her right as Kailey Anders tried to score at the far post corner. UA came out firing to open the second half, recording four of its seven second-half shots in the first 10 minutes. Fraine needed to make another diving stop in the 77^th minute when UA’s Camille Flores took a shot in the box after the ball was loose after a Razorback corner kick.

Thompson said Florida was happy to claim the win Sunday.

“It was good to get the win. It was very tough being away,” Thompson said. “They were a good team and came out with a lot of energy. So we were really happy to get a goal and the win

The Gators return home to play host to No. 10 South Carolina (15-2-1, 7-2-1 SEC) on Friday, Oct. 30. Match time is set for 6 p.m. (ET) at the James G. Pressly Stadium. USC lost 1-0 at No. 17 LSU Sunday afternoon in Baton Rouge, La. Florida leads the SEC with 23 points, while South Carolina and LSU share second with 22 points each. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a tie in the league standings.

FSN-Florida (Gainesville/Ocala Cox Cable channel 70) will air Friday’s match live. The match also can be heard live with Adam Schick and Matthew Stubbington calling the action on AM 850 WRUF or via simulcast on Gainesville/Ocala Cox Cable channel 946 and www.GatorZone.com.