Razorbacks Fall To Gators In Regular-Season Finale
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The 22nd-ranked Razorback soccer team fell behind early against the Florida Gators Thursday night in its regular-season finale and couldn’t find a way to even it up as two second-half goal led Florida to a 3-0 victory at Dizney Stadium.
Florida (6-9-3, 4-4-2 SEC) guarantees itself a spot in next week’s SEC Tournament with the win. Arkansas (11-4-3, 6-3-1 SEC) had already earned its spot in the conference tournament last week, but will have to wait to see what its seed will be after the other league games have gone final.
“First off, congrats to UF,” Arkansas head coach Colby Hale said. “Today, we faced a hungry team. We found a group in the second half that was able to get the momentum back for us, but it was a little too late. The regular season is over and we are on to the postseason. Orange Beach has been a special place for us, but we know we’ll have to fight for every second of every result.”
Battling through wet conditions and a light mist throughout the night, the Razorbacks and Gators saw a lot of midfield play in the opening minutes, but it was the Gators that got the early advantage with their first goal in the 10th minute.
Senior Briana Solis was able to score from 20 yards away after catching the Razorback back line on a counter attack. Solis’ shot came from well outside the box, but hit the upper 90, just out of Arkansas keeper Taylor Beitz’s reach.
Arkansas still had plenty of time to even the score with nearly 35 minutes left in the first half and worked multiple balls down the flanks, but only managed four shots in the first half, two coming off the foot of sophomore Taylor Malham.
The Razorbacks did have chances off set pieces in the first half after Florida took the 1-0 lead. Arkansas won the corners game, 4-1, in the opening half, but was not able to translate any of those chances into goals.
In the second half, Florida put the game away with two goals in a span of four minutes, both from Deanne Rose. Rose secured her brace in the 53rd and 57th minutes and Arkansas only managed two shots, neither on goal for the final 30 minutes.
Up Next
Arkansas now waits to find out its first opponent of next week’s SEC Tournament in Orange Beach, Alabama. With its win over Auburn last week, the Razorbacks secured a top-six seed, but the exact seed will not be known until the rest of the league’s game have gone final.
The Razorbacks will play their first match of the conference tournament on Tuesday at a time to be determined. All games of next week’s tournament will be televised on the SEC Network and online on Watch ESPN.
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