After five consecutive road games, the Florida Gators came back to James G. Pressly Stadium to face the UCF Knights. After the Knights overcame a 2-0 deficit to tie the game 2-2, the Gators saved their early lead with a late-winning goal made by Samantha Chung with less than three minutes left on the clock. Final result: 3-2.

            For almost 35 minutes in the first half, Morgan Ferrara and Cortney O’Connell were able to apply pressure on the Gator backline of Rachelle Smith, Erika Nelson, Kristen Cardano and Julia Lester by cutting off passing lanes. But thanks to the support by Briana Solis — her first game of the season in the starting lineup — while constantly going back and showing herself available to be the first passing option, the Gators were able to find their pace.

            UCF’s Katrina Kuoksa defensive work was effective on the Gator attacking midfield. The substitution of Pamela Begić into the match gave the Gators a different flow to their offense. Meggie Dougherty-Howard, Solis and Begić got together to pull the strings of the midfield. In the 33rd minute, Begić decided to drive and dribble the ball instead of passing to Sammie Betters — who was wide-open on the left wing. It worked out very well. Begić left a defender behind and scored from 22 yards. It was her first goal this season.

            On the second half, the Gators had more control over the rhythm of the game. They started to push the Knights back inside their box thanks to the quick ball recovery and fluent ball movement. Cardano helped with her great footwork when driving the ball to the midfield and making through passes to the forwards. On the build-up for the second goal, Seiler, Cardano and Dougherty-Howard made a passing triangle to find Mayra Pelayo on the right wing. Pelayo, who was wide-open, sent a beautiful cross to Savannah Jordan inside the box. It was goal No. 72 for Jordan, which puts her alone in second place in the Gators’ and Southeastern Conference all-time scoring list.

            There is a saying in soccer that says that a 2-0 lead is the most misleading thing in the sport. The Gators witnessed that it can be true. UCF’s Amanda Wilkin and Kayla Adamek found open spaces on both wings to produce lethal counterattacks. The Knights were able to create three clear scoring opportunities before Adamek found Morgan Ferrara for the first visiting goal.

            On a corner kick, Bridget Callahan found the ball in a sea of legs to tie the match at 2-all.

            With less than three minutes on the clock, Pelayo’s staggering touch allowed her to send a cross pass inside the box. The pass was deflected by a defender and landed just above the box. Chung ran onto the ball and scored from 20 yards. It was her first goal of her collegiate career.

            Next game for the Gators will be against the Auburn Tigers on Thursday at 6 p.m. The Knights will be back in Orlando to play against the University of Houston on Sep. 29. 

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