Florida
Shutout by Bruins
Boxscore
The No.
6 University of Florida soccer team (3-2, 0-0 SEC) dropped its second
consecutive match of its Midwest weekend trip, falling Sunday 3-0 to No. 9
UCLA (3-1-1, 0-0 Pac 10) in the final day of action of the Illini
Challenge Cup Presented by Gameday Spirit at the Illinois Soccer Stadium.
All of the Bruin scoring
came in the second half. Early in the second half, the Bruins intercepted
the ball deep in the Gator half. Kristina Larsen’s pass found Sydney
Leroux moving diagonally in the box and Leroux made a short shot in the 51st
minute for her sixth goal of the season.
The Bruins scored again
in the 75th minute when Kristina Larsen hit a hard shot to the
far post lower corner when the ball off an UF deflection of an Ahsha Smith
shot came to her feet.
A free kick led to the
Bruins’ final goal in 88th minute. Kara Lang took the 20-yard shot and her
shot kicked off the cross bar and landed behind the goal line.
UF goalkeeper Katie
Fraine was credited with a collegiate-high nine saves Sunday
afternoon. Her third save of the match came in the 28th minute
when Leroux looked to take advantage of a 1v1 opportunity after
intercepting the ball deep in the UF half. Fraine deflected the shot out
for a Bruin corner kick. Later in the opening half, a Bruin cross found
Larsen looking to make a short shot at the center of the net, but Fraine
made the stop.
The Gator attack had
some good looks at the UCLA goal. In the 38th minute Natalia Torosian
intercepted the ball and brought it down the right side of the box. Her
low cross across the UCLA goal couldn’t find the foot of any Gators in the
box.
With a minute left in
the half, the Gators were awarded a free kick at the top of the attacking
third of the UCLA box. The kick by Lauren Hyde was saved out for a
Gator corner kick, With time ticking down, Nicky Kit’s kick found
Brooke Thigpen, but her shot was blocked by an UCLA defender.
With about 21 minutes
left in the second half, Holly King brought the ball down the
middle of the field. She led Lindsay Thompson with a pass which
Thompson ran down on the right sideline. Thompson’s cross into the box
found Thigpen but her shot was blocked by an UCLA defender.
A Kit corner kick looked
to have led to a Gator score at in the 78th minute. The ball
found King’s foot but the save by Chante Sandiford was ruled as made in
front of the goal line.
UF Head Coach Becky
Burleigh thought UCLA had the physical advantage today, something that
the Gators will need to correct for better future results.
“UCLA did not sit it, they put us under pressure and I thought they got
the better physical part of the game. That was probably the most
disappointing for us because we need to raise our game to another level to
compete,” Burleigh said. “That is a good lesson to learn this early in the
season.
“This weekend exposed some things in us which is exactly why we play games
like this. I think as a team, we have to be physically tougher
defensively. I thought when it came to 50-50 balls and winning balls in
the air, I though UCLA out played us in this game today. We also have to
be composed on offense. Those are two very different skills and they are
hard to combine, but that is our goal to combine physical toughness with
composure on the ball,” Burleigh continued. “We want to get better in time
for the SEC and post season.”
Next up, Florida returns home to begin a six-match home stand. The Gators
play host to No. 24 Duke (2-2, 0-0 ACC) on Friday, Sept. 11. Match time is
set for 7 p.m. at the James G. Pressly Stadium. Friday’s match can be
heard live on WRUF AM 850 with Adam Schick and Matthew Stubbington
covering the action. Live, streaming video of the match is also available
on GatorVision – click on the GatorVision icon at
www.GatorZone.com to get complete
information.
|
Scoring Summary: |
1st |
2nd |
Final |
|
Florida |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
UCLA |
0 |
3 |
3 |
|
Scoring: |
|
UCLA: Sydney Leroux
(Kristina Larsen) 50:14 |
|
UCLA: Larsen (Ahsha
Smith) 74:13 |
|
UCLA: Kara Ling
(free kick) 87:04 |
|
|
|
Goalkeepers: |
|
|
|
Minutes |
Saves |
GA |
|
Florida |
Katie Fraine |
90:00 |
9 |
3 |
|
UCLA |
Chante Sandiford |
90:00 |
3 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Statistical Summary: |
UF |
UCLA |
|
Shots |
4 |
22 |
|
Shots on goal |
3 |
12 |
|
Saves |
9 |
3 |
|
Corner Kicks |
3 |
5 |
|
Fouls |
15 |
18 |
|
Offside |
3 |
6 |
