Gator Soccer Falls to No. 1 Seminoles

The Florida women’s soccer team faced a Goliath on Thursday night: the number one Florida State Seminoles, led by head coach Mark Krikorian. Florida has not won a game this season, and they will keep searching after a trip to Tallahassee. Suffering two goals from former Gator sophomore Beata Olsson, the Gators fell to the ‘Noles by a score of 5-2.

High-Scoring Start

Despite the end result, the game was not out of hand from the start for Florida. In fact, the Gators led in the early stages of the match. Graduate Kit Loferski converted junior Alivia Gonzalez’s cross into the box, and the underdog was ahead by one in the 10th minute.

https://twitter.com/GatorsSoccer/status/1433573177867784197

The Seminoles almost instantaneously bounced back, though. With two goals within five minutes after Loferski’s, one from senior Jaelin Howell and another from Olsson, Florida State was already on top. The Gators would not score again until the 90th minute; the Seminoles would score three times in that span.

Piling On

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Senior Clara Robbins gave Florida State its third goal of the game on a 19-yard strike. This sent the game into halftime with Florida trailing by two. Coming out of the gate in the second half, Olsson tipped in her second goal of the night, extending the lead to three.

In the 78th minute, Robbins struck again on a penalty kick past goalkeeper sophomore Alexa Goldberg. This would wrap up the offensive clinic put on display by the Seminoles. In the last moments of the game, senior Shaye Seyffart scored her first goal as a Florida Gator on a 14-yard strike. This goal, although inconsequential to the end result, can act as positive momentum moving forward.

Moving Forward for the Gators

After scoring two goals in the last four games, a two-goal outing in Tallahassee is a sign of progress- especially against the best team in the country. The Gators are back in action on Sunday, when they will travel to Ft. Myers, Florida, to take on the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles.

Final here in Tallahassee:

Scoring:
9:54 UF @kiloferski (@aliviag04)
10:14 FSU Jaelin Howell (PK)
13:46 FSU Beata Olsson (Zhao Yujie)
29:04 FSU Clara Robbins
48:15 FSU Beata Olsson
77:07 FSU Clara Robbins (PK)
89:39 UF Shaye Seyffart

Presented by @WellsFargo | #GoGators pic.twitter.com/Q14PrYR0am

— Gators Soccer (@GatorsSoccer) September 3, 2021