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Samantha Bohon and her Gators took a trip to South Carolina in hopes to continue their winning ways in the SEC. After coming off a major 2-1 victory against Texas last Friday, Florida looked to keep the momentum going and grab another three points in the SEC. South Carolina was coming off a draw against Vanderbilt and was eager to get back on track with a win Thursday.

With both teams having the same level of emphasis on winning this match, it was going to be physical. Within the first 15 minutes, there were six fouls committed; five came from Florida. It was a very gritty opening 15 minutes as both teams wanted to control the game early and establish their play style for the match.

Both teams had great offensive pressure. It was back and forth between the two. Even though the pressure was there, both teams were solid defensively and all threats were handled accordingly.

South Carolina had the first real chance to get ahead from Corinna Zullo. Her shot traced towards the top left part of the net and was ultimately saved by the Florida goalkeeper, Alexa Goldberg. The ball eventually went out for a Gamecock corner.

Florida handled the threat of the corner and flipped the script with a corner of their own about a minute later. It was the first major chance for Florida and they probably hoped to recreate their opener against Texas. South Carolina clearly watched the film from last week and handled the corner convincingly.

Florida continued their offensive pace with more opportunities from Lauren Donovan and Madison Jones. hey both had chances within minutes of each other, but neither of their chances forced a save from the South Carolina goalkeeper, Christina Tsaousis. Donovan earned the Gators a corner with her attempt, but nothing came of it.

South Carolina earned two corner kicks late in the half. The first corner occurred at the end of the 30th minute and Florida dealt with the threat easily. The second attempt had an opportunity for the Gamecocks as well, but Florida managed to evacuate the danger from their box.

South Carolina wasn’t finished, though. Kylie Cino, with less than five minutes left in the half, took a strike that was heading towards the top of Goldberg’s net. Goldberg stood her ground and made the save, alleviating the potential threat. The rest of the half was a possession game until the referee blew the whistle to end the half. It was all square at the break.

Florida finished the first half with three shots, two saves, and two corners. South Carolina finished the half with six shots, zero saves, and four corners. It was an even first half for the majority of the time, despite a few moments of dominance from South Carolina possession wise. It was all to play for in the second half.

The second half began and it was right back to the same intensity.

The Gamecocks earned themselves a corner in three minutes after applying some early pressure. The corner was unsuccessful, but the Gamecocks still managed to get an opportunity with a strike from Amanda Patrick. Her shot drifted left and missed the target.

Florida answered five minutes later with a corner of their own. The corner was unsuccessful, Both teams had early opportunities to open the scoring and couldn’t capitalize.

The next act of this match was a battle for the midfield. Both teams were playing very possessive and wanted to take the game at their pace. This was tough due to the physicality of both teams. They weren’t giving an inch.

South Carolina earned another corner, which was unsuccessful. Florida returned the favor with a corner of their own three minutes later. Both were unsuccessful and the score remained 0-0.

What do you do when the game seems even? You make a substitution and hope someone has a moment of creativity that unlocks something. South Carolina did just that by putting in Emma Bucci and Cuyler Zulauf.

At the 78:05 mark, Zulauf and Bucci created the magic the Gamecocks were looking for. A great pass by Zulauf from the corner found Bucci in a very threatening spot. Bucci kept her composure and put the ball on target bouncing off and beating Goldberg. The Gamecocks opened the scoring and took one step closer to three points.

Florida needed to find a response to the goal quickly if they wanted any chance of getting three points, or even a draw.

Madison Jones decided to take a chance and winded up to take a shot. The ball tracked to the bottom-left corner of Tsaousis’s goal and she makes a save keeping her Gamecocks up with about eight minutes left.

Florida earned a corner shortly after. Out of all the corner kicks, this was the most important for Florida. The ball was swung in and a Florida head couldn’t find it. Florida was quick to regain possession from the corner and allowed an opportunity from Daviana Vaka, but her shot goes right.

Gamecock, Catherine Berry, dribbled inside shielding pressure from the Florida defense. She feints left and dragged the ball past the defender. She took a touch and wrapped the ball around Goldberg finding the bottom-right corner. The Gamecocks doubled their lead with a beautiful moment of skill and finishing with five minutes to go.

South Carolina kept it composed and finished the game calmly. They controlled the majority of the second half and found the three points because of it.

It was a tough game for Florida. It was a very hard fought game from the Gators and to not get any points from it is very frustrating. On the bright side, the Gators took a tough opponent to the last 12 minutes of the match and showed full intensity for 90 minutes.

The Gators return back to Gainesville for a rivalry game against Georgia on Sunday. Currently sitting at 1-3-1 (4 points) in the SEC, It will be a very important point of the season for the Gators as three points and a major momentum swing could be on the table.