Orange Beach is approaching rapidly and with just two games remaining, Florida desperately needs points to keep them alive.
Entering Thursday, the Gators were tied for the ninth seed of the tournament with Texas A&M at seven points. A goal in the final five minutes against Georgia ended all comeback efforts, preventing the Gators from adding to that total.
Elsewhere in SEC play, the LSU Tigers dismantled South Carolina 4-0 putting their point total at nine and leapfrogging the Gators. Mississippi State edged out Texas A&M 2-1 to increase their point total to seven.
The Gators now sit in a three way tie for the final seed of the tournament at seven points with Texas A&M and Mississippi State. LSU is just ahead of the three with nine points.
On Sunday, the Gators will return to Donald R. Disney stadium to face the LSU Tigers at noon in a must win match.
The Tigers (10-5-0, 3-5-0) started their season on an eight game win streak before dropping the next five in conference play. Since then, they have won their past two matches, defeating Kentucky 1-0 and South Carolina 4-0.
LSU has been far more effective offensively and defensively than Florida thus far. They have outscored their opponents by 21 while the Gators have been outscored by 17.
For the Gators to get out of their five game losing streak, the key will be capitalizing. In Thursday’s comeback effort, the Gators showed flashes of what they are capable of in terms of capitalizing on opportunities, which has been an issue for them all season.
Mollee Swift, LSU goalkeeper, being third in the SEC with a .809 save percentage paired with an unimpressive .094 shot percentage for the Gators may be an issue.
If the Gators can create space and take effective shots like they did in the second half versus Georgia, they can position themselves to stay in the fight for an SEC postseason berth.
Senior day will take place at the Diz on Sunday at noon for Florida’s match against LSU. There will be free admission to watch the careers of seniors Madison Alexander, Taylor Baksay, Georgia Eaton Collins, Kit Loferski, Shaye Seyffart and Samantha Tobar celebrated. The match will also be streamed on SEC network+.
