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Florida Soccer 3-2 OT Win over Oklahoma State
Junior Brooke Sharp’s
golden goal with 19 seconds remaining in the first overtime gave the
University of Florida soccer team a 3-2 OT win over Oklahoma State
Friday evening in front of 1,149 at the James G. Pressly Stadium.
Sharp’s
game winner started when freshman Briana Solis sent the ball into the
box toward a pair of Gators at the far post. The ball deflected off an
OSU defender and Sharp caught up with the loose ball. She took a touch
right and then sent a low, right-footed shot to the far post corner at
99:41.
The Gators trailed early after Oklahoma
State’s Marlo Zoller tapped in the ball from two yards off the double
assist from Christina Jean-Charles and Courtney Dike at 2:33.
Florida’s
first goal started when Christen Westphal brought the ball end line,
then reversed to the top of the box. From the corner, she sent a ball
to just above the six-yard box. Savannah Jordan and Laurene Tresfield
collided as both went up for the ball at the far post, with both
players tumbling to the pitch. The ball was loose in the box and
Sharp’s seven-yard left footed shot scored at the opposite post in the
27th minute.
A set play in the 38th minute gave
the Gators their second goal. Senior Lauren Smith’s corner kick was
headed in to the far corner by junior Liz Slattery for her first goal
of the season.
The Cowgirls tied the match in the
66th minute when Haley Woodard stepped in front of a Gator midfield
pass and then quickly played it out to Courtney Dike who was streaking
down the middle of the field. Dike took the ball into the box to score
from 12 yards for her second goal of the season.
Stars of the Match:
Sharp’s
goal at 99:41 is the latest golden goal in the first overtime in
Florida history. The previous was Adriana Leon’s game winner at Auburn
at 99:28.
Both Gator junior goal scorers tonight
turned in their first scores of the season. Slattery’s provided her
with the sixth goal of her career and Sharp’s double-goal night ups her
career total to seven. It was the first double-goal match of Sharp’s
collegiate career.
It was Sharp’s second goal in
the final minute against the Cowgirls. Last season in Florida’s 4-0 win
at Oklahoma State, Sharp scored with 36 seconds remaining. Tonight, she
scored the golden goal with 19 ticks left.
Worth Noting
Every
Gator receiving a point tonight registered their first points of
2015:
First goal: Sharp and Slattery
First assist: Lauren Smith and Westphal
First start: Solis
Florida is 1-1 in overtime matches this season (1-0 OT loss at Ohio State on Aug. 23) and 37-17-30 all-time.
Records:
Florida: 4-1-0, 0-0 SEC
Oklahoma State: 2-2-0, 0-0 Big 12
What the Gators Said:
On Florida's mindset heading into overtime:
"I
think the biggest thing we talked about heading into overtime was just
getting back to playing Gator soccer because we sort of went away from
that a little bit. I think we kind of fell into a little bit of their
(Oklahoma State's) direct style of play, not that we were direct, but
we were dribbling way too much. We weren't playing and moving, but in
the overtime, we did a good job of that, and I think that's why we
generated some opportunities." - Florida head coach Becky Burleigh
What did it feel like to win in overtime off your goal?
“It
feels pretty good to win in overtime. It was a really stressful time to
be tied 2-2 for 10 minutes so it was exciting to get the golden goal,
and it was exciting to have the whole team excited at the end.” –
junior Brooke Sharp
Did you sense an end like that?
“No
I didn't. I just wanted to make sure that I was framing the goal. It
was a corner kick so we were all framing the goal. I wasn't expecting
us to score in the last 20 seconds, but I'm glad we did.” – junior
Brooke Sharp
How does it feel to pull that game out like that?
It
was an amazing feeling. Last 30 seconds of overtime doesn't get any
better than that. We would have like to finished early but it was an
exhilarating feeling for sure.” – senior Lauren Smith
You scored your first goal of the season tonight. Was scoring off a header something you’ve been working on?
“I've
been working on heading. Every time there is a goal kick or a punt, I'm
always trying to be the first one who touches it, so being able to
finish a corner with a header was a really exciting thing for me. I've
been working and working on getting up in the air before everyone. It
was nice to have that assist (from Lauren Smith) and a great ball in.”
– junior Liz Slattery
You came in and played in
the middle of the two center backs most of the game, took a lot of the
corner kicks. You played a big role in the win of this game with your
assist.
“I was just happy to be out there and help in whatever
way I can. We've been working a lot on corner kicks and mostly just
finishing. I'm happy we were able to finish and come out with a win.” –
senior Lauren Smith
On sticking with OSU throughout the game and pulling out a win:
"It's
good for us to have an overtime win. That says a lot about our team to
come back from the situation we were in. I think that where we have got
to get better is not getting ourselves in that situation, but you have
to give Oklahoma State credit for sticking the chances that they had."
- Florida head coach Becky Burleigh
What do you think of tonight’s result?
“I
think it is really good for us. In the second half, we were a little
rocky with our possession and I think we kind of weren't playing Gator
soccer. We came out in the overtime, calmed down, collected ourselves
and Brooke Sharp put away a great goal.” – junior Liz Slattery
On OSU defending well against Savannah Jordan:
"She
had some great looks too. Obviously she's going to be the focal point
for most teams' defenses, but I think that opened up some opportunities
for someone like Brooke (Sharp)." - Florida head coach Becky Burleigh
On switching goalkeepers from Valerie Tysinger to Kaylan Marckese:
"It's
important for us to get all our younger players some experience, and we
had decided before the game that that was going to be a change we were
going to make at halftime just to get Kaylan some game experience." -
Florida head coach Becky Burleigh
Preseason Conference Votes:
Florida
was second in the 2014 Southeastern Conference final standings with a
9-2 record. Texas A&M won the league title with a 9-1-1 record. OSU
was second in the 2014 Big 12 with a 5-2-1 league record. West Virginia
won the Big 12 with its 7-0-1 record.
Florida – The Gators are picked to win the 2015 Southeastern Conference title.
Oklahoma
State– The Cowgirls are picked to finish third in the Big 12. West
Virginia is picked to repeat as Big 12 champions in 2015.
Rankings:
Florida is ranked No. 8 on the September 1 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll.
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