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The Florida Gator soccer team edged out an overtime win over Oklahoma State 3-2 on Friday night. Junior Brooke Sharp scored the golden goal with 19 seconds left in the first overtime to give Florida the win. This puts the Gators at 4-1 on the season and drops the Cowgirls to 2-2.
The Gators trailed to start the game after Oklahoma State’s Marlo Zoller put one in the back of the net three minutes into the game. Florida would bounce back though as Brooke Sharp netted her first of two goals of the night in the 27th minute.
The Orange and Blue took the lead in the 38th minute when junior Liz Slattery headed a corner in for her first goal of the season. The offenses would slow down until the Cowgirls tied things up in the 66th minute to make it 2-2. The game would remain tied throughout the rest of regulation.
Florida head coach Becky Burleigh talked about her team’s mindset going into overtime.
“I think the biggest thing we talked about heading into overtime was just getting back to playing Gator soccer because we sort of went away from that a little bit. I think we kind of fell into a little bit of their direct style of play, not that we were direct, but we were dribbling way too much. We weren’t playing and moving, but in the overtime, we did a good job of that, and I think that’s why we generated some opportunities.”
With time expiring in overtime Sharp took a loose ball in the box and sent it to the far post corner for her second goal of the night and the win. Sharp now sits at seven career goals.
Sharp said it was exciting to get the game-winning goal.
“It feels pretty good to win in overtime. It was a really stressful time to be tied 2-2 for 10 minutes so it was exciting to get the golden goal, and it was exciting to have the whole team excited at the end.”
Florida is now 1-1 in overtime matches this season; they lost to Ohio State in overtime 1-0 earlier this season. This is the third straight season the Gators have defeated the Cowgirls.
The Gators open up conference play next Thursday with a home match against defending league champion and third ranked Texas A&M. Match time from Donald R. Dizney Stadium is set for 7 p.m.
To hear sound from the game click below:
