Florida Defeats Vanderbilt 5-1
Box Score
Gainesville, Fla. - Sunday September 27, 2009

The No. 10 University of Florida soccer team (8-3, 2-0 SEC) finished its opening weekend of Southeastern Conference play with a 5-1 win over Vanderbilt (6-3-1, 0-2 SEC) Sunday afternoon at the James G. Pressly Stadium.

The Gators’ first goal started when Holly King saw Nicky Kit calling for the ball on the left sideline. Kit ran onto the ball and served it into the box where there were options waiting. Lindsay Thompson was at the near post, but ball continued on where Tahnai Annis tapped it in from four-yards in the 34th minute.

For Annis, she was just following the instructions of the Gator coaching staff.

“Nicky got the ball out wide, and we're told when the ball gets out wide, make sure that we have enough players in the box. We need to be framing the goal - someone’s at the near post, someone's slot and someone's far post. Lindsay took that near post run and I knew that she took the keeper out of the play,” Annis said. “Nicky played a good ball on the ground and it was an easy tap-in because I was in the right position.”

Shortly before the half, the ball came off VU’s Rachel Bachtel after she tried to stop Natalia Torosian’s centering pass. The deflection came right at the foot of redshirt freshman McKenzie Barney, who recorded her first collegiate goal in the 44th minute. Barney said it was Torosian who did the heavy lifting on that goal.

“It looked like the ball was going to go out, but Natalia (Torosian) worked hard to keep it in. She served a great ball - a ball the keeper couldn’t handle. The keeper batted it out and I was right there so I put it in,” Barney said. “But it was really Natalia who did all the work.”

Barney also scored again in the 83rd minute when she put in a four-yard shot off an Annis corner kick. It was the second Sunday in a row that a Gator who scored her first collegiate goal also added another. In Florida’s non-conference season finale, Torosian scored a goal in each half of Florida’s 5-1 win over Eastern Kentucky.

Florida’s first goal of the second half came when Jessica Eicken headed in a Kit corner kick in the 52^nd minute. It was Eicken’s first goal of the season and her first since she headed in the golden goal to give Florida a 4-3 OT win at Vanderbilt last season.

Freshman Erika Tymrak scored in the 66^th minute when Annis send a ball across the box. Tymrak one-touched the ball in to the far post corner for her third goal of the season.

UF Head Coach Becky Burleigh liked the way the Gators kept the pressure on in the second half after taking a 2-0 lead into halftime.

“I think that the best thing to come out of this game was at the beginning of the second half, we kind of put the game out of reach. That is what we need to do and especially on Sundays as hot as it is,” Burleigh said. “It’s going to be tough for teams to climb back in it if we do that.”

The Commodores scored late in regulation when Megan Forester put in a 10-yard shot off the cross from Kristine Chaklos. It was Forester’s second goal of the season

Vanderbilt had several good looks at the goal Sunday. Gator goalkeeper Katie Fraine was busy earning five saves in her 77 minutes of action Sunday. In the 12^th minute, the Commodores’ Candace West took an 18-yard shot that kicked off the far post into play. Chelsea Stewart was there to pick up the ball, but Fraine recovered well to make the save on Stewart’s six-yard shot. Later in the half, Molly Kinsella created an opportunity for herself, beating two defenders to take a 10-yard shot in the box. Fraine made the stop on the left-footed shot, holding onto the ball to ensure that the VU player framing the goal wouldn’t have an opportunity from a deflection.

“She definitely made some big saves early and she made some good decisions to start our fast break,” Burleigh said. “I thought she played a really good game.”

The Gators head to the Magnolia State to face a pair of Southeastern Conference rivals. The Gators meet Mississippi State on Friday, Oct. 2 at 8 p.m. (ET) and then plays at Mississippi on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 1 p.m. (ET). Both matches can be heard live on WRUF AM 850 with a simulcast on Gainesville/Ocala Cox Cable channel 946.