No. 5 Florida Tops Cowgirls

Sunday, September 4

Stillwater, OK

12:00 PM

Oklahoma State University

2-3-1

Florida

4-1-0

Florida

Oklahoma State

Marlo Zoller

September 04, 2016 | Cowgirl Soccer

Box Score

PHOTO GALLERY

STILLWATER – Fifth-ranked Florida handed Oklahoma State its second-straight loss Sunday as the Gators emerged a 7-2 winner following a high-scoring second half at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex.

All nine goals in the match came after intermission as the loss dropped OSU to 2-3-1 on the season while Florida improved to 4-1-0.

"I was positive with our group after the game," said OSU head coach Colin Carmichael. "I told them the first-half performance, if we can do that for 90 minutes, we have a chance to be very good. The first half was great and showed, when we're playing our best, what we're capable of against one of the best teams in the country. We have to focus on that.

"The final scoreboard I wasn't so worried about. Our kids never quit. We hung on and certainly had some moments and some good looks in the game. There's a lot of positives going forward, and we'll continue to work hard towards getting the results we want."

In the opening half, OSU abandoned its typical 4-3-3 formation in favor of a 5-3-2 system and looked strong in doing so, outshooting UF and owning a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks over the first 45 minutes.

The Cowgirls nearly scored off one of those corners in the 17^th minute, but a shot by Courtney Dike was saved off the line by a Florida defender. In the 31^st minute, OSU created another strong opportunity when Niki McKnight beat her defender and delivered a pass to Rachel VanFossen, whose shot from 16-yards out sailed wide of the mark.

The game went to intermission scoreless, but the second half produced plenty of offense.

Florida seized control over a 7 ½ minute span early in the half as the Gators recorded three goals. Melanie Monteagudo got things started in the 48^th minute when she collected a long pass, beat her defender and sent a shot past charging OSU goalie Michela Ongaro.

Just under five minutes later, it was UF All-American Savannah Jordan notching the first of her two goals on the day as she spun around a defender and blasted a shot from 20-yards out top shelf to the far post to put the visitors up 2-0.

Another goal by Monteagudo in the 56^th minute made it 3-0 before OSU got on the scoreboard and cut its deficit to two when Dike scored off an assist from Jaci Jones in the 64^th minute. The goal was Dike's team-leading fourth of the season.

UF quickly regained momentum, however, as goals from Kit Loferski and Jordan pushed UF's lead to 5-1 at the 67:36 mark.

The Cowgirls tallied their final goal of the day when Haley Woodard connected on shot from the top of the box in the 79^th minute to collect her fourth goal of the season and tie Dike for team-high honors.

UF finished the match with a slight 12-10 advantage in shots, while OSU owned a 5-2 edge on corner kicks. The Gators recorded six saves, five of those by goalie Kaylan Marckese.

"The first half was excellent. I thought we had the edge — we certainly created more looks at goal than they did," Carmichael said. "We pressed them and did a great job, but we used up a ton of energy. We had a really tough game Friday night against UCF, and we knew our energy levels in the second half today were going to suffer and they did. Florida did not have a game Friday and was completely fresh, and I think that showed in the second half. They had a lot more pep and moved the ball quicker, and we struggled to keep up."

OSU concludes a five-game homestand next weekend when the Cowgirls host Abilene Christian Friday night before a Sunday afternoon match against UTSA.