Florida and No. 15 South Carolina Tie 0-0

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida soccer’s first point of this young Southeastern Conference season was earned with a 0-0 tie versus No. 15 South Carolina Sunday at the Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
 
This Afternoon’s Match:
South Carolina was the third of a four-match SEC season opening stretch of ranked opponents for the Gators. Florida dropped one-goal decisions to then No. 9 Arkansas (3-2) and No. 24 Oklahoma (2-1). To earn the point Sunday, the Gators went to a defensive-focused formation, a first for the team this season.
 
“First of all, credit to South Carolina, because we have a lot of respect for them, which was why we set up in the system that we did today,” Florida Head Coach Samantha Bohon said. “This just really shows the growth of our program. We literally introduced this yesterday at practice, went over in pre-game meal today. For them to step in and execute at this level under the pressure that South Carolina can put you in with their two attacking players – I’m just really proud of their effort. I feel like we’ve played the last three games deserving some sort of result, so it was nice to see it finally come.”
 
The collective effort of the Gators was saluted by Bohon post-match, with several players stepping into different roles Sunday. One player who was outstanding in her usual role was goalkeeper Paloma Peña, who earned her first collegiate solo shutout Sunday. Her collegiate-high six saves came against a program with the league goals leader (Katie Shea Collins) and shared the team goals high total of six.
 
“We’ve been on the end of goalkeeper performances like that all season, so it was kind of nice for us to have that happen,” Bohon said. “That’s what we see in training so I was really happy to see Paloma bring that to the game environment. You could see the really athletic shot stopping ability that she showed today. So I’m really happy for her because she’s been grinding so this was long overdue and now we need to build on it.”
 
Working together was key for today’s result, Peña said.
 
“I was just really proud of my back line and it honestly made my job way easier. All I had to do was make the save, which is what I’m here to do,” Peña said. “But it was really them. They gave me that confidence. They did their job so that I could do mine. We’re always talking about communication. It’s one of our key principles. I know that when I communicate with them, they can understand me. I’m kind of like a quarterback back there. So they pay attention to what I say. I listen to what they say. It’s really just back and forth communication with each other so that we can have the best result in our half.”

Records:

Florida: 4-5-1, 0-2-1 SEC

South Carolina: 8-1-2, 2-0-1 SEC

 

Series Record:

Florida leads 22-13-4

 

Next Up:

The Gators finish this SEC opening four-match stretch versus top 25 teams Friday at No. 21 Georgia. The Bulldogs come into Friday’s match with a 3-0 SEC record with wins versus Texas A&M (3-0), Kentucky (1-0) and Mississippi (4-1).

 

at No. 21 Georgia (7-2-2, 3-0 SEC)

Date: Friday, Sept. 26

Time/Site: 6:30 p.m. ET at Turner Soccer Complex

Stream: SEC Network +

Stats

Admission: Free

 

No. 15 South Carolina (8-1-2, 2-0-1 SEC) at Florida (4-5-1, 0-2-1 SEC)  

Stadium: Donald R. Dizney Stadium (845)

Weather: 90 degrees, partly cloudy, winds NE at 12 mph

 

 
Scoring Summary:

 
Shots: USC 12, UF 4
Saves: USC 0 (Christina Tsaousis 0); Florida 6 (Paloma Peña 6);
 
Offsides: USC 0; UF 0
 
Cautions: Gracie Falla-USC (yellow) 63:19