Florida snapped Florida State's 24-game unbeaten streak, which dated back to Sept. 5, 2014.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Despite two late goals by the Seminoles, three first-half scores by Florida proved to be too much of a mountain to climb as No. 1 Florida State [3-1-0] was defeated, 3-2, by No. 14/7 Florida [3-1-0] on Sunday afternoon. The loss snapped FSU’s 24-game unbeaten streak, dating back to Sept. 5, 2014.
“It was about character at that point,” said head coach Mark Krikorian. “You are down 3-0 to a good team and there are a lot of different ways the game can go. You can pack in and be happy at 0-3, you can give up more goals, or you can fight back as we did.
“Honestly, I thought our fight and our competitive spirit in the second half was quite good. We created some chances and with a little bit of luck, maybe we could have had the third goal.”
Florida opened the scoring in the 18th minute with a goal by Savannah Jordan. She put the ball away from six yards off an assist by Sarah Troccoli. Florida made it 2-0 less than three minutes later on a header goal by Troccoli off a Gator corner from Christen Westphal.
The Gators extended their lead to 3-0 in the 42nd minute with a penalty kick goal by Pamela Begic.
Florida State did have a couple offensive chances in the first half. Senior Isabella Schmid slipped a ball in to Kaycie Tillman in the 11th minute, but her shot was blocked away by Florida’s goalkeeper Valerie Tysinger. Carson Pickett led the Noles with two shots in the first 45 minutes, but both sailed wide of the frame.
The three goals in the first half marked the first time Florida State allowed three goals in a game since Oct. 3, 2013 when the Noles defeated Boston College, 4-3.
The second half was mostly quiet from both teams for the first 25 minutes. Michaela Hahn nearly got the Noles on the board as she ripped a shot from the top of the box in the 56th minute that went off the crossbar.
Florida State continued to battle and cut it to 3-1 in the 75th minute on a diving header by Kirsten Crowley. Much like her goal on Aug. 28 against Southeastern Louisiana, freshman Megan Connolly served a corner kick to the redshirt junior defender who redirected the ball into the net.
Berglind Thorvaldsdottir scored the second Seminole goal five minutes later with a strike at 79:58 in the match. Pickett got the scoring chance started from the back line, feeding it up to freshman Elin Jensen who found Thorvalsdottir to make it a 3-2 game.
FSU narrowly missed a chance to score the equalizer in the 82nd minute on a shot from Jensen. The freshman midfielder collected a loose ball just outside UF’s 18-yard box and fired a shot that barely sailed over the crossbar. It proved to be the best chance the Noles would get to tie the game as Florida limited FSU’s possessions the rest of the way.
The Seminoles return home for another contest against a ranked opponent as FSU welcomes No. 4/9 Texas A&M to Tallahassee for a match on Sept. 4 starting at 7 p.m.
