Florida soccer falls to No. 9 Arkansas 1-0

Florida fell to No. 9 Arkansas 1-0 at Donald R. Dizney Stadium Thursday night. The sole goal of the game came early for the Razorbacks.

First Half

It took under six minutes for the Razorbacks to strike. Arkansas forward Sophia Aragon shot the ball low and hard but hit the right post. The ball rebounded to the top of the box where forward Jessica De Filippo netted it.

With their early goal, the Razorbacks controlled the momentum of the game, maintaining the majority of possession and spending most of their time in Florida’s half.

While the Razorbacks commanded the game, the Gators showed promise with a few spurts of energy.

Florida goalie Alexa Goldberg kept the Gators in the game, stopping the Arkansas front line by putting her body on the line. Nearing the end of the half, Goldberg went down with an injury after she ran out toward the top of the box to take on an Arkansas forward. Goldberg went off the field holding a towel to her head with five saves under her belt.

Senior Francesca Faraci replaced Goldberg in net.

In the final minute of the half, the Gators tallied their first shot of the game. Arkansas dominated the first half, controlling possession and putting up nine shots compared to Florida’s one.

Second Half

Similar to the first half, Arkansas maintained a majority of possession, putting pressure on Florida’s defense and keeper. While there was no scoring in the second half, the Razorbacks put up nine more shots, testing the backup goalie. However, Faraci stayed strong in net, finishing the game with six saves.

“I just really want to do it for the team,” Faraci said. “Let everyone know if you’re given an opportunity, step up and take advantage of it.”

Faraci attributes her success to her teammates and coaches for backing her up.

While the Gators could not even the score, Head Coach Samantha Bohon was proud of her team and saw this game as a success.

“Towards the end of the game, despite having so much pressure, we kind of pushed back a little bit,” Bohon said. “I’m just really proud of the effort of our players.”

Next up, the Gators will travel to Columbia, to take on another SEC rival, Missouri, on Sunday.