No. 23 Florida Soccer Hands No. 4 Florida State its First Loss of Season

9/7/08

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A first-half goal by freshman Tahnai Annis gave the No. 23 University of Florida soccer team (3-1-1, 0-0 SEC) all the scoring it needed Sunday, as UF handed previously undefeated No. 4 Florida State (4-1, 0-0 ACC) a 1-0 loss in front of a Seminole Soccer Complex crowd of 1,732.

The Gators’ first shutout of the season was preserved with some outstanding saves from sophomore goalkeeper Katie Fraine. She turned in a career-high seven saves Sunday.

“I thought she played really well,” UF Head Coach Becky Burleigh said.
“I also thought she kind of negated their throw-ins, which have been a problem for other teams, by just picking off those balls out of the air. She had a terrific performance. That is her strength as a keeper, dominating her box.”

Early in the opening half, FSU’s Amanda DaCosta took a shot off a leftside cross, but Fraine made a diving save. DaCosta again tried to tuck in a shot in the left corner in the 16th minute, but Fraine was able to make the save. In the 22nd minute, the Seminoles had a numbers advantage and looked to have a 1v1 situation in the box, but Fraine made a diving right save to keep FSU off the board.

As the Florida defense settled in, Fraine said they were able to take away some of the better chances that FSU took early in the match.

“I think we have a smart defense. It was just a matter of figuring out what their offense was coming out with. At the beginning, our defense was just trying to figure out where they needed to be,” Fraine said.
“After 15-20 minutes, they really started to get it. They started to put the pressure on a little bit more and that’s when our opportunities started to come.”

FSU came into Sunday’s match averaging better than four goals a match.
To contain the FSU offense, the Gators knew they would need to show discipline in the backline.

“Their speed is a huge factor. Their forwards are faster than our backline,” Burleigh said. “I thought our backline did a good job of managing it by trying to stay a step ahead of them. For the majority of the match, we kept our shape really well.

Florida’s first shot of the match turned out to be the only goal of the match. The play began when Ashlee Elliott played a low, hard ball into the box. The ball deflected off a couple of players near the top of the box and Annis was able to put in from 12 yards to the far post at 19:10.
It was her third goal of the season.

“Ashlee played it in. There was a collision in the box and the ball was just kind of bouncing,” Annis said. “I called Megan off of it and hit it off the bounce. It went right in.”

Sunday’s win was the 10th for Florida in the 16-match all-time series and the first win in Tallahassee since 2004.

Florida junior Angela Napolitano was carried from the field in the 85th minute after injuring her right knee in a mid-field collision. She will be examined by UF team physicians on Monday.

Next up, the Gators play host to No. 15 Illinois (4-1, 0-0 Big 10) on Friday, Sept. 12. Match time is set for 7 p.m. at the James G. Pressly Stadium. The match can also be heard live on WRUF AM 850 with Adam Schick and Matthew Stubbington covering the action. Live streaming video and audio of Friday’s match is available on GatorVision. Check www.GatorZone.com for complete information.

Scoring Summary: 1st 2nd Final
Florida 1 0 1
FSU 0 0 0

Scoring:
UF – Tahnai Annis (Ashlee Elliott) 19:10

Goalkeepers:
Minutes Saves GA
Florida Katie Fraine 90:00 7 0
FSU Kate Milstead 90:00 1 1

Statistical Summary: UF FSU
Shots 5 16
Saves 7 1
Corner Kicks 0 15
Fouls 8 2
Offside 1 1