Banged-Up Wildcats Put Up Gritty Performance at No. 20 Florida
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The No. 20 Florida Gators scored a goal each half on Thursday afternoon en route to a 2-0 shutout win over Kentucky at the Embry-Riddle Soccer Complex in Daytona Beach.
The match moved to Embry-Riddle University in Daytona Beach, Florida on Tuesday afternoon after discussions with both school’s athletic administrations. The University of Kentucky, the athletics department and the women’s soccer program would like to thank the staff of Embry-Riddle for their graciousness as hosts of the match on late notice.
Florida broke down the UK defense for the first time all match in the dying seconds of the first half as Sarah Troccoli hit a long-range shot from distance that grazed off the top of the crossbar and fell into the far post past Abigail Zoeller. The Gators would then take a 1-0 lead into the halftime break after a fairly even opening frame.
In the opening stages of the second half, Florida doubled its lead as Madison Alexander scored her second of the season on a finish to Zoeller’s left from 10 yards out and into the side netting.
UK continued to show defensive resolve all night long, only allowing two goals to one of the best scoring offenses in the country over the 90 minutes. The Wildcats generated offense of their own with five shots and four corners in Thursday’s match.
Kentucky hosts Arkansas in its final home match of the season on Sunday, Oct. 22 at 2 p.m. ET. The match will be shown live on the SEC Network+, ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. Dave Baker (pxp) and former Wildcat All-American, Stuart Pope (color) will have the call from the Bell Soccer Complex.
The Road to Orange Beach will come down to the final two match days for the Wildcats, who are currently in the final qualifying position to make the 2017 SEC Tournament. UK will play Arkansas and at Georgia to end the season with the top 10 teams going to Orange Beach for the week-long tournament.
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s soccer team, follow @UKWomensSoccer on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
