Florida Gators
William & Mary
Gator Soccer Heads to NCAA Round of 16 with 5-2 Win versus William & Mary
Saturday, November 21, 2015 | Soccer
GAINESVILLE, Florida –The University of Florida soccer team moves on to the NCAA Third Round after its 5-2 win over William & Mary Friday, played in front of 1,012 at the Donald R. Dizney Stadium. Florida advances to the NCAA Round of 16 for the second consecutive season and for the 11th time in the program's 19 NCAA appearances.
Florida will face Duke Sunday for NCAA Third Round action. Match time is set for 2 p.m. at Dizney Stadium.
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| Friday's NCAA Results |
| No. 2 seed Florida 5, William & Mary 2 |
| No. 3 seed Duke 2, FGCU 0 |
| No. 4 seed Auburn 3, Texas Tech 2 OT |
| No. 1 seed Florida State 5, South Alabama 0 |
| Mississippi 1, No. 2 seed Clemson 1 2OT (UM 5-4 PK) |
| Texas A&M 1, No. 3 seed North Carolina 0 |
| No. 1 seed Penn State 6, Boston University 0 |
| Ohio State 1, No. 4 seed Virginia Tech 0 |
| Loyola Marymount 1, Minnesota 0 |
| No. 2 seed West Virginia 4, Northwestern 0 |
| No. 2 seed Rutgers 2, Hofstra 0 |
| Connecticut 2, No. 3 seed Notre Dame 0 |
| No. 4 seed Southern California 3, Princeton 0 |
| No. 1 seed Virginia 2, UNCW 0 |
Friday's Scoring:
Florida took a 1-0 halftime advantage off a strike from junior Meggie Dougherty Howard. Freshman Briana Solis sent the ball to Dougherty Howard, located a couple of steps above the box. Dougherty Howard's 20-yard strike banged in off the far corner hardware in the 40th minute.
Two goals in just over a minute pushed the Gators lead to 3-0 in the second half. Freshman Sarah Troccoli sent the ball to Dougherty Howard located midway in the box. The square ball she sent found Savannah Jordan, who one-touched with her right foot into the goal at 58:07.
Just a minute and five seconds later, Troccoli and Jordan reversed roles, with the freshman getting the goal. Rachelle Smith's pass found Jordan just above the box. Jordan brought the ball into the box and the square ball she sent through the six-yard box found Troccoli on the other end. Troccoli scored from five yards at 59:19 to put UF up 3-0.
Jordan added her second goal of the night in the 71st minute when she jumped on a misplay between two W&M defenders. She drove to the goal and slotted the ball into the far post from eight yards.
The final Gator goal came from junior Pamela Begič. Freshman Gaby Rivera's pass found Begič at the top corner of the box. Begič turned, evaded her defender and then struck from 17-yards at 76:13 for Florida's fifth goal.
The Tribe broke up the Gators scoring when Rachel Moore successfully converted her penalty kick in the 76th minute. W&M also scored the final goal of the match in the 87th minute when Leci Irvin struck from nine-yards.
Worth Noting:
· Jordan's pair of goals push her season total to 24 – two more than her previous collegiate high of 22 set in 2013. Her career total of 65 goals is the second highest among current collegiate players and she is the only junior among the nation's current four players with 60 or more career goals.
· Dougherty Howard's goal is her third of 2015 – setting her collegiate high. Dougherty Howard now has collegiate season highs for goals (3), assists (8) and points (14) in 2015.
· Troccoli and Begič each have scored five goals in 2015, tying them for third among the Gators for goals. Begič's total is a collegiate high, bettering her four goals as a freshman in 2013.
· Solis recorded her second assist of 2015 on Dougherty Howard's goal. The assists have come in consecutive matches, as Solis turned in her first collegiate assist in Florida's 1-0 win over Western Michigan in Saturday's NCAA Opening Round action.
· Jordan's two goals tonight is her sixth multi-goal match of season and 17th of career. It was her second multi-goal match in NCAA action (two versus Mercer Nov. 16, 2014/NCAA First Round).
· This was the first meeting between the two programs. William & Mary's first season was in 1981 and Florida started its program in 1995.
· William & Mary has only surrendered three goals in one other match in 2015 – a 3-2 loss to James Madison in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament championship match. The Tribe last allowed five goals at No. 1 North Carolina on Nov. 13, 2004 (NCAA Second Round, 6-0 loss).
· Tonight's 5-2 win marks the fourth time in Florida's NCAA history it has scored five or more goals, with the last coming in Florida's 5-1 win versus James Madison in 1998 NCAA Second Round action.
· Florida is now 30-15-4 all-time in NCAA play. That win total stands No. 12 among the 235 Division I teams which have appeared in the NCAA Soccer Championship since it began in 1982.
What the Gators Said:
"I thought from a possession standpoint, it was exactly what we wanted to do. We kept the ball a lot, and that made things very difficult for William & Mary. Give credit to them; they never quit, came up with the two late goals and pushed us until the end." – Florida head coach Becky Burleigh
On the differences in Florida's offensive output between its two NCAA games:
"I think the big part of it was we really, really wanted to put an emphasis on just trusting one another and keeping the ball moving. When we keep the ball moving, it's very, very difficult to defend because everything's one- and two-touch, and a player steps up to defend it and the ball's gone. I just thought we were really efficient with our possession, and that created some openings and that's what created the goals." – Florida head coach Becky Burleigh
On the reasons for Florida's barrage of goals in the second half:
"I think part of that just comes down to fatigue because when you chase the ball, first of all, it's physically tiring, but it also really mentally wears on you. We've been in that situation before, and it's not fun to chase the ball. The more you have to do it, the more difficult it becomes. At the beginning, in the first half, we had some near misses. We finally got the goal from Meggie (Dougherty Howard) late in the first half, but we talk about rowing the boat. We just kept rowing and kept rowing and knew something was going to happen in a positive direction." – Florida head coach Becky Burleigh
On Florida's defense giving up two late goals:
"I think that, again, it becomes a team commitment to just pressing the ball wherever we happen to be. If we have numbers forward in their (William & Mary's) half, that's where we're going to do it. I like the fact that we played in their half quite a bit in this game." – Florida head coach Becky Burleigh
On if she was hoping for a shutout:
"Always. Always." – Florida head coach Becky Burleigh
On if switching out subs late benefitted Florida for Sunday's game:
"That's the plan. It's not often in a NCAA game that you can go that deep, and we were really happy to do that. I think the players that came on kept the level very high, and that was exciting to see." – Florida head coach Becky Burleigh
On her goal:
"I've been practicing shooting lately. I just had taken a look over my shoulder and saw that I had a lot of space, so I just tried to turn with my first touch and hit the corner. It was a great ball from Bri(ana Solis)." – junior midfielder Meggie Dougherty Howard
On what Florida discussed at halftime:
"We talked about just playing our game and keeping our composure and finding each other's feet. That's our best soccer that we play, and I think we came out in the second half knowing that we can just find combination plays and be patient at the top of their box. We also talked about taking shots and putting them on frame. I think we did a good job of executing that in the second half." – junior forward Savannah Jordan
On William & Mary's defensive differences in the second half:
"I personally think they played the same throughout the game. I think they had some really good defense, and I think just coming out in the second half and seeing it in the first half, we were able to break it down a little bit better." – junior forward Savannah Jordan
On repaying her teammates with the assist after her first goal:
"It was great. My teammates basically give me all of my goals. I obviously couldn't score any of them without my team. It's always great to reward them back and to help get goals any way that we can." – junior forward Savannah Jordan
What the Tribe Said:
Opening statement:
“Very proud of our team and everything they've accomplished this season. I thought the first half we defended well. Looking as we might catch a break, but conceding that goal shortly before halftime was disappointing. I still felt like the beginning of the second half we could still get back into it. Unfortunately they stepped it up in the second half and our defending was not as tight and compact as it had been in the first half.” – William & Mary Head Coach John Daly
On the difference between the first half and the second
“Sometimes it's psychologically hard when you concede a goal, and as the game goes on the players realize that this is going to happen. I felt like we were going to get chances and we did, but I think everyone realized that once you fall that goal behind the next goal becomes crucial. I thought when they scored that second goal fairly early in the second half that was really the moment that the tide turned.” – William & Mary Head Coach John Daly
On Florida possessions of the ball:
“Well, them having the ball in the middle of the field didn't bother me, they can have it there as long as they want. When they started getting behind us on the outside that's when trouble arises. We had done a good job in our game that we were going to stop them from going endline and keep pushing them into the middle. When they got on the outside, they scored from both of them. You can plan all you want and the players can work all they want, but every once in a while you're a yard off in the wrong direction and the channel is open. They took advantage.” – William & Mary Head Coach John Daly
On Florida's type of play:
“I think Florida is a very patient team, so I think they get you going with playing it around in the back and kind of get you on your heels.” – senior midfielder Nicole Baxter
On what they needed to do after Florida's second and third goals:
“It was a big psychological thing when a team scores two goals in less than five minutes - it's pretty demoralizing. I think that we had to reconvene, tell ourselves that we didn't have anything to lose, and push the ball forward. We ended up scoring two goals and getting a few chances. So we were happy with it.” – senior midfielder Nicole Baxter
On their season:
“From my point of view, losing players of the caliber of Corinne Giroux, Sam Cordum and one of our top freshman in Sarah Segan made it tough. I confess to being a bit despondent about it. Then when I saw the way that people like Nicole [Baxter] and Caroline [Casey], the two captains and great leaders, were responding, and the way [Katie] Johnson and others were picking up the slack I realized, well, we can still do something here. I would have loved to see what we could have achieved with those injured players.” – William & Mary Head Coach John Daly
“People getting hurt on each roster, I think it's something everyone goes through. It's a part of the game and you just have to respond to it and people have to step up. I think that us being able to do so well in our conference and making it this round is just a testament to how hard we work, our depth, and fitness. It's just something you have to roll with, but like JD said it would have been awesome to see someone like Cordum back on the field.” – senior midfielder Nicole Baxter
Records:
Florida: 19-3-1, 8-2-1 SEC
W&M: 14-5-3, 7-1-1 CAA
Rankings:
Florida is ranked No. 5 on the November 10 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll.
Next up:
Florida faces No. 20 Duke Sunday for NCAA Third Round action. The Blue Devils advances with a 2-0 win over Florida Gulf Coast in Friday's opening match at Dizney Stadium.
Florida leads the all-time series with Duke 6-4-2, but the Blue Devils have eliminated the Gators from NCAA play in both post-season meetings. Duke took a 4-2 penalty kick advantage after the teams played to a 0-0 2OT tie at Pressly Stadium in 2010 NCAA Second Round action. Duke won 1-0 when the teams met in 2013 NCAA Second Round action in Durham, North Carolina.
Sunday's NCAA Third Round action begins at 2 p.m. at Dizney Stadium.
NCAA Third Round Ticket Information:
NCAA Soccer Third Round play will be at the Donald R. Dizney Stadium Sunday. Tickets are $7 for adults and $3 for children (12 and under), students and senior citizens.
The first 200 UF student showing at Gator1 card at Sunday's match are admitted free.
Ticket be purchased online or at the gate Sunday.
Going to a Gator event on Saturday? Tickets for Sunday's NCAA Third Round match can be purchased at the ticket window at either the Florida-Florida Atlantic football game or the Florida-Kennesaw State women's basketball game.
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| @UFGatorSoccer (Becky Burleigh) |
No. 2 regional seed Florida (19-3-1, 8-2-1 SEC) versus William & Mary (14-5-3, 7-1-1 CAA)
Stadium: Donald R. Dizney Stadium (1,012)
Weather: 67 degrees, 80% humidity, clear, winds 9mph
| Goals by Period | 1 | 2 | Total |
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| W&M | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| Florida | 1 | 4 | 5 |
Scoring Summary:
| No. | Time | Team | Goal Scorer | Assist |
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| 1. | 39:45 | UF | |||
| 2. | 58:07 | UF | |||
| 3. | 59:12 | UF | |||
| 4. | 70:43 | UF | |||
| 5. | 75:26 | W&M | Rachel Moore | PK | |
| 6. | 76:13 | UF | |||
| 7. | 86:33 | W&M | Leci Irvin | Nicole Baxter |
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Shots: Florida 21; W&M 5
Saves: Florida 2 (Kaylan Marckese 1, Team 1); W&M 5 (Caroline Casey 5)
