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The Florida Gators have been struggling mightily in SEC play this season. And at home against Vanderbilt on Friday, it was more of the same.
Florida (4-5-6, 1-4-2 SEC) was outplayed by Vandy (8-2-5, 3-2-3), which dominated the soccer match and left Dizney Stadium with a 2-0 victory.
Final.#GoGators | Presented by @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/OBTrBkzMUp
— Gators Soccer (@GatorsSoccer) October 18, 2024
Hitting Target
The Commodores had a better attack than the Gators coming into the game, and they played like it.
Cutting through the Florida defense like a hot knife through butter, Vanderbilt had little trouble moving the ball into the Gators’ final third. But its biggest edge came in shot efficiency, of Vandy’s 15 shots, 12 hit the target.
In comparison, Florida only hit the target twice on 10 shots.
Vanderbilt’s opening goal came from Gators goalkeeper Alexa Goldberg making a risky challenge that her defense could not bail her out of.
Goldberg rushed out of her box to try to clear the ball, but failed to make solid contact. Center back Daviana Vaka arrived on the scene, but was also not able to get a good clearance. Taking advantage was the Commodores’ Ella Eggleston, who escaped the defense and fired the ball into the bottom corner of the goal to make it 1-0 in the match’s 28th minute.
Aggressive Tactics Backfire
The Gators did not force a save from Vanderbilt until the game’s 69th minute and were not able to create any significant chances.
As a result, coach Samantha Bohon went to the drawing board in the second half. She decided to go with three defenders at the back in order to get numbers going forward.
However, the Gators still were not able to push forward and create chances. And the three-back formation had a drawback of limited width defensively, which also helped Vanderbilt to attack and keep possession — and score its second goal.
Vanderbilt’s Abi Brighton set up a goal beautifully in the second half. A perfect pass to the back post allowed teammate Mia Gonzalez to easily tap the ball over the line to make the score 2-0 Commodores.
Vanderbilt doubles the lead to make it 2-0.
10 remaining.#GoGators pic.twitter.com/gG0rFuoIWJ— Gators Soccer (@GatorsSoccer) October 18, 2024
Brighton occupied the wide area of the pitch, where a wingback would normally be. But because of the three-back system, she had space to push up down the flank and put a good ball into the box.
Brighton’s individual skill is something Florida has been lacking this season. The team is last in the SEC in goals.
The Gators are strong defensively and employed the offside trap well as usual. They caught Vandy offsides a whopping nine times.
But overall, they were really outmatched. Florida failed to keep the ball for the majority of the match and, as a result, surrendered far too many shots and did not generate enough of its own.
Goldberg made 10 saves, some of which were outstanding, to keep the game closer. But without enough offensive firepower, the Gators were blown away by their SEC rivals.
