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With a record of just 3-1-4 prior to the start of SEC play, the Florida Gators soccer team had plenty of room for improvement before its matchup at No. 20 Kentucky.
Unlike Florida, the Wildcats steamrolled their non-conference competition, going 8-0 , including a 2-0 upset against then ninth-ranked UCLA.
With conference play beginning, every SEC team had to prepare to face opponents from the deepest conference in the nation.
And Florida rose to the occasion Thursday, holding Kentucky to no goals for the first time this season in a 0-0 draw.
Getting In Behind
Early in the match, both teams made plans for scoring goals very clear. Both the Gators (3-1-5, 0-0-1 SEC) and Wildcats (8-0-1, 0-0-1) were trying to press high up the pitch to win the ball and get into the final third in a position to strike.
This was a viable strategy because both teams have pace up front. For Florida, those players were wingers Delaney Tellex and Vera Blom, who each scored in the team’s 3-0 win against Kennesaw State on Sept. 12.
But it was the Wildcats who were on the attack for most of the game. As Kentucky was the superior goal-scoring team, it was crucial for Florida to maintain structure in its back line. And it mostly was able to do.
Kentucky was generating chances early, earning two corners and forcing a great save onto the bar by Gators goalkeeper Alexa Goldberg in the 11th minute.
Goldberg also had to come out of the goal to bail out the back line several times throughout the match when balls were played in behind.
And like they did against Florida State, the Gators went with a high line at points to try and catch the Wildcats offsides. This tactic proved more successful against UK than it did in the FSU match.
In the second half, Kentucky started getting more crosses in from wide with their fullbacks and wingers, but Florida continued to catch the Wildcats offside.
The Gators were given a huge scare in the 87th minute. Goldberg left the goal and failed to get a good clearance on the ball, but Kentucky couldn’t take advantage as its follow-up shot missed the target.
A Battle of Set Pieces
The Wildcats generate a lot of corners – prior to the match, they were 5th in the NCAA in that stat.
And that was another route in which they tried to trouble the Gators.
Florida visibly struggled to clear some of those corners, but was able to escape the match without conceding on any of them. Kentucky’s set-piece takers were putting good balls into the box, but the Gators were able to scrappily win their challenges and clear the danger by going long.
And despite some mistimed challenges which resulted in a few fouls for the Gators, few cards were given. So Florida was able to continue being aggressive in defense – which is key for defending corner kicks and free kicks as well.
Although Kentucky was on the front foot for the majority of the match and Florida had to do some desperate defending in its own half, it still got the clean sheet and the draw.
Up Next
The Gators will be in for another challenge Sunday, when they face No. 6 Auburn (8-0-1, 0-0-1 SEC) on the road at 3 p.m. The Wildcats will look to bounce back from their draw against Florida with a road game against South Carolina.
