Gator Soccer Edged 1-0 by No. 9 Arkansas

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – An early goal was the difference tonight, as No. 9 Arkansas edged Florida 1-0 on a perfect fall evening at the Donald R. Dizney Stadium. It was Florida’s eighth match of the last 10 outings decided by a single goal.

Since the start of September, Florida’s faced four top-25 teams – sharing the top number of top-25 meetings among fellow Southeastern Conference teams in that span.

Thursday’s match:
The Razorbacks scored early. Sophia Aragon’s shot hit hard off the near post in the sixth minute. That deflection landed just above the six-yard box where Jessica De Filippo stepped up to score with a right-footed shot.

“It’s disappointing to give up a goal so early but I liked the effort shown to hold a team that plays so much high pressure and send so many numbers forward. Towards the end of the game, despite having so much pressure, we kind of pushed back a little bit.

“I’m just really proud of the effort of our players. Tonight was a really good example of how they just fought for each other and played very connected. Each time we put somebody in, they accepted their role and just kind of went after it. To me, this was one of our better connected team performances that we’ve had this year. We’d love to get a result out of this. We’re just we’re just really proud of them.”

With seven minutes remaining in the opening half, Florida goalkeeper Alexa Goldberg and Arkansas’ Anna Podojil collided, resulting in a head laceration for Goldberg. She was replaced in goal by senior Francesca Faraci. Goldberg had played every minute of the 2022 season up until tonight’s opening half injury.

Thursday was a big day for Faraci. Earlier, the journalism major had her first story published<https://www.wuft.org/news/2022/10/06/gainesville-residents-and-restaurants-deal-with-congested-city-on-game-weekends/> and then that evening, stepped in to replace the injured Goldberg. It was her first match experience since playing a combined 43 minutes in two 2021 appearances. Admittedly nervous, Faraci said the encouragement she felt from her fellow Gators helped when she took over between the pipes to face a top-10 team.

“I just really wanted to play well for the team and step up in this opportunity,” Faraci said. “My teammates were there for me and hugged me afterwards. I would not have been able to do this without them.”

Goldberg received treatment to close the laceration above her eyebrow Thursday and will be evaluated by UF Medical Staff.

Records:
Florida: 2-10-0, 0-5 SEC
Arkansas: 9-2-1, 4-1 SEC

Series Record:
Florida leads 22-4

Next Up:

Florida heads to Columbia, Mo., to face the Missouri Tigers on Sunday. The Tigers lost 2-0 at No. 19 Tennessee tonight.

Sunday, Oct. 9 at Missouri (4-6-2, 1-3-1 SEC)
Time/Site: 2 p.m. at Audrey J. Walton Soccer Stadium<https://mutigers.com/facilities/audrey-j-walton-soccer-stadium/10> (2,500)
TV: SEC Network <https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/24282787-52fd-4913-a174-2c18ba1b552f> with action called by Jonathan Yardley and Ian Carry
Live Stats<http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=412207&vislive=fla>
Tickets: Free

No. 9 Arkansas (9-2-1, 4-1 SEC) at Florida (2-10-0, SEC 0-5)

Stadium: Donald R. Dizney Stadium (370)

Weather: 81 degrees, clear, winds W 3 mph

Goals by Period

Total

Arkansas