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The Florida Gators hosted the Kennesaw State Owls in a dominant victory where Florida put three past KSU.

Florida entered the contest looking to bounce back from Sunday’s loss against FSU.

“Every game is a new game and I think we did really well at playing our game at our level,” said Delaney Tellex. Tellex was one of the three goal-scorers this evening.

The first half was nothing short of dominant from Florida. From the start, the Gators controlled everything. Possession was kept for majority of the half and majority of that possession was in the KSU half of the field.

The composure and decision making of the Gators was on point. Every pass was played with purpose and intent. Every tackle was timed and pressed at the perfect moment. The Owls couldn’t do anything because Florida wasn’t allowing them to.

This ultimate control of the game eventually lead to an early goal for Florida. A beautiful, incisive pass by Madison Jones found Delaney Tellex on the right side of the box. Tellex took a touch and put her foot through the ball. The ball came off of her foot like a missile and smacked the underbelly of the crossbar; finding its way into the net to bring Florida up 1-0.

“Great ball by Jonesy (Madison Jones), and then touch and a finish,” said Tellex.

Florida continued after the goal with the same level of possession and composure. They earned five corner kicks within the next 20 minutes of the match.

The overlaps from the midfielders and wing backs were the driving forces of the offensive presence. It was a perfect balance of attacking, defending, and pressuring from both sides of the pitch.

The pressure from the Gators was too much for the Owls to handle. Njeri Butts won the ball and drove into the box. As she wound up for a shot, a KSU defender fouls her and concedes a penalty with 3 minutes to go in the half.

Oakley Rasmussen stepped up to the spot for Florida and put the ball directly into the side netting on the right side of the goal. The KSU goalkeeper, Caroline Wehr, was stuck in her spot. The Gators doubled their lead.

The Gators maintained possession until the end of the half.

Florida finished the half with 2 goals, 14 shots, 1 foul, and 9 corners. KSU finished the half with 0 shots, 5 saves, and 6 fouls.

A dominant half for Florida.

The second half began and Florida got right back into their first half form. They dominated and controlled possession early.

The Gators took no time finding their third goal of the match.

Emily Hauser found Vera Blom on the left side of the box. Blom took an explosive touch and wrapped her foot around the ball. The ball rises and curves at the same time. Caroline Wehr, the KSU goalkeeper, attempted to make a diving save, but the ball had too much bend and pace. A world-class finish from Blom put the Gators up 3-0.

For the next 30 minutes of the match, Florida was practically having shooting practice. The Gators were shooting from all over the field.

At the 70 minute mark, Coach Bohon put in a lot of her reserve players.

“As a coach, it’s always wonderful to get a rotation in,” said Bohon, “I’ll give a lot of credit to our reserve group because they work so hard in practice and this was a wonderful opportunity to show what they’ve been doing and to earn minutes.”

The Gators closed out the game comfortably. KSU applied pressure a few times but it was never a true threat. The back line was very composed for Florida and it showed.

The referee blew the final whistle and Florida comfortably won the match and earned a clean sheet.

Florida ended the match with 21 shots and 9 corners. KSU didn’t have a shot attempt.

“We really challenged our back line this week because we felt like we were just a little too casual,” said Bohan, in regard to the defensive lines goals after the FSU loss.

“Unapologetically, we had to win today,” expressed Bohan. Her and her ladies got the job done.

It was a very important win for Florida. A perfect bounce back game that will give Florida momentum for a tough away fixture against Florida Gulf Coast.

A rainy day that turned into a beautiful Gators victory. The Gators win 3-0.