No. 20 Florida Soccer Wins 2-1 OT at FAU
8/24/08
BOCA RATON, Fla. – The first collegiate goal for freshman Tahnai Annis
proved to be golden as it gave the No. 20 University of Florida soccer
team (1-0-1, 0-0 SEC) a 2-1 overtime win versus Florida Atlantic (0-1,
0-0 Sun Belt) Sunday afternoon in front of a FAU Field crowd of 569.
Sunday’s match was the second consecutive overtime match of the season
for UF, as the Gators tied Colorado 1-1 2OT Friday night in Boulder,
Colo. Today’s match was the season opener for the Owls since their match
Friday with Florida Gulf Coast was cancelled due to weather.
Although the Gators outshot the Owls 16-9 for the match, it wasn’t until
overtime that Florida scored in the run of play. The winner came in the
95th minute when senior Megan Kerns played the ball to Annis in the box.
“I remember the ball being scrambled up at the top of box. Megan got
control of the ball and she tapped it. I just tried to get whatever I
could on it. The keeper either dove too early or dove too late, but she
didn’t get a hand on it,” Annis said. “It felt good to do score because
earlier in the game I missed two pretty much gimme goals. Finally
getting it in the back of the net was kind of a redeeming thing for
myself.”
The Owls’ score came in the opening half when senior Anhnhi Tran put in
a loose ball off a corner kick in at the near post at 35:47.
The Gators’ best chance of the first half came in the final 10 minutes.
A pair of freshmen nearly combined for a goal in the 44th minute. Brooke
Patterson’s pass cut through the box and found Annis making a far post
run, but her shot was wide.
The second half opened up with the Gators attacking the FAU goal. In the
50th minute, Ameera Abdullah brought the ball down the left side and her
cross found a couple of options in the box, but Angela Napolitano’s shot
to the far post was saved. Three minutes later, Kerns’ 16-yard shot was
saved out at the far post corner for a corner kick.
Florida tied the score in the 61st minute when Kerns successfully
converted a penalty kick opportunity. The Gators played the entire 2007
season without being awarded a penalty kick.
Immediately after the penalty kick, FAU’s Ashley Mannarino received a
red card and the Owls were forced to play the remainder of the match
down a player.
Florida kept the pressure on the FAU goal. In the 75th minute, Liz
Ruberry ran onto the back heel pass from Kerns but her shot from just
inside the box was saved out for a corner.
It was the first time Florida played a regular-season match in Boca
Raton. The two teams have now met three times since 1995, with the
previous two meetings coming in Gainesville. Last season, the teams
played to a scoreless tie in Gainesville in a match that was played in
heavy rain.
UF Head Coach Becky Burleigh thought the adjustments the Gators made as
the match progressed resulted in more scoring opportunities.
“I think FAU’s strategy was to put as many players behind the ball as
possible and it was effective. It limited our offensive opportunities at
first because we got a little bit impatient,” Burleigh said. “I thought
we had some great opportunities in both halves. But the one we scored on
was probably not one of our better opportunities, but that’s just the
way soccer is sometimes. It was an unfortunate goal for them to give up,
but at the same time, I thought we probably should have scored on a
couple of our other opportunities.
Next up, the Gators return to Gainesville to play host to the opening
weekend of home action. Florida faces the same team it played in the
2007 season home finale, UCF, at 8 p.m. on Aug. 29 for the 2008 home
opener at the James G. Pressly Stadium. UF and UCF played to a scoreless
tie in 2007 NCAA Second Round action, with Florida advancing to the NCAA
Round of 16 after taking a 4-3 advantage in penalty kicks. Florida also
meets Nebraska on Aug. 31 at 1 p.m.
Scoring Summary: 1st 2nd OT1 Final
Florida 0 1 1 2
Florida Atlantic 1 0 0 1
Scoring:
FAU - Anhnhi Tran (unassisted) 35:47
UF – Megan Kerns (Penalty Kick) 60:52
UF – Tahnai Annis (Megan Kerns) 94:16
Goalkeepers:
Minutes Saves GA
Florida Meghan Berlingo 96:29 2 1
FAU Jessica Badders 96:29 6 2
Statistical Summary: UF FAU
Shots 16 9
Saves 2 6
Corner Kicks 4 2
Fouls 8 2
Offside 0 1
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