No. 7 Florida defeats No. 8 Texas A&M in preseason match
TAMPA, Fla. (Via University of Florida) – Florida took a 2-1 win over Texas A&M in a preseason match played Monday evening at Ed Radice Field.
The match was played in three periods of 30 minutes each. After a day of rain in the Tampa area, Monday’s match was played on turf.
Monday’s match was the first collegiate action for this pair of preseason top-10 teams. The Gators are No. 7 on the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) preseason poll while Texas A&M is next at No. 8. Although both members of the Southeastern Conference, these two teams are not scheduled to meet in 2016 regular-season action. Since Texas A&M joined the league for the 2012 season, either Florida (2012, 2013-tie, 2015) or Texas A&M (2013-tie, 2014) have claimed each of the SEC regular season titles.
+NCAA Women’s Soccer Commitment Announcements: August 2016
About Monday’s Exhibition:
Texas A&M scored first in the eighth minute off a goal from Emily Bates.
Florida senior Meggie Dougherty Howard tied the match with her 19-yard strike in the 24th minute. The Gators got the go-ahead goal in the 45th minute when sophomore Mayra Pelayo curved in a right-side shot from outside the box into the far corner of the net.
The Gators had several other near chances as the Aggies finished with a 15-14 advantage in shots. In the final minute, freshman goalkeeper Susi Espinoza made a fingertip save on a low Aggie shot. She tipped it wide right to force a corner kick. That corner kick was the final play of the match.
Next Up:
Florida will return to Tampa on Saturday to face USF in the final exhibition match of the 2016 preseason for both teams. The match will be played at 7 p.m. at Corbett Stadium.
