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  • #15 Florida defeats #19 Arkansas in OT, wins SEC Tournament title

    FINAL: FLORIDA 2, ARKANSAS 1 (OT)

    ORANGE BEACH, AL-  The Florida Gators have now won back to back SEC Tournament Championships.  The Gators were forced to overtime by Arkansas, but senior Brooke Sharp headed in the winning goal in the final minute of the first overtime.
    Savannah Jordan was able to score her 80th career goal in the 29th minute as she spun around an Arkansas defender before finishing with her left foot.

    Arkansas rebounded and dominated play in the second half, focusing on tying the game up and finally Alexandra Fischer capitalized on a poor play by Florida.  Gators defender Kristen Cardano made a poor pass to goalkeeper Kaylan Marckese, who quickly sent it away.  The ball went right to the foot of Fischer who sent a shot high and behind Marckese, who was well off her line.

    Florida played hard to the end of regulation and Mayra Pelayo came inches from sending Florida home as winners but her attempt went just wide of the net.

    The overtime winner saw Jordan make a beautiful pass to the oncoming Meggie Dougherty Howard who crossed the ball to fellow senior Sharp, who easily headed in the winner.

    Florida earned it’s twelfth SEC Tournament Title, and also earns the SEC’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament.

     Game Summary:

      1st 2nd OT FINAL
    FLORIDA 1 0 1 2
    ARKANSAS 0 1 0 1

     

    Goal Scorers:

    • 29th minute: JORDAN (16)
    • 79th minute: FISCHER
    • 99th minute: SHARP (2)

    Cautions/Ejections:

    • N/A

    What’s Next:

    Florida will likely be a host site for the NCAA tournament.  The NCAA selection show is set for November 7 at 4:30pm.  Stay tuned for more information.

    (Photo from the SEC Network Twitter timeline)

  • Report: Alex Anzalone out for remainder of season

    According to SEC Country.com’s Zach Abolverdi, Florida LB Alex Anzalone broke his arm in Saturday’s loss at Arkansas. The injury will force Anzalone to miss the remainder of the season. 

    Anzalone is second on the Gators with 53 tackles and had eight against the Razorbacks. 

    Anzalone has had a history of injuries. In 2015, Anzalone hurt his shoulder and missed the final 12 games of the season. 

    Anzalone was seen as a 2016 NFL draft pick, but this injury will likely curb the expectations. Anzalone has one year of eligibility left if he chooses to stay in school, though he did earn his degree back in August. 

  • Embarrassing loss ends playoff hopes for #11 Florida

    FINAL: ARKANSAS 31, FLORIDA 10

    FAYETTEVILLE, AK-  In the matchup between the Florida Gators and the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday it was expected that Florida would do everything they could to improve their rankings in the College Football Playoff poll.
    And maybe Florida did do everything they could, which could be the problem.

    Arkansas allowed 543 rushing yards to Auburn in their most recent game.  Many predicted Florida’s four headed running back stable to run wild.  However, Florida was trailing after one offensive play, and completely abandoned the run game with only 14 attempts (three of those were actually Arkansas sacks) while gaining a total of 12 yards.

    Luke Del Rio looked unsteady the entire night.  His first pass was thrown into a tight window and bounced off two defenders before being returned as a pick-six.  Although his final stats read 19-37 for 229 yards, don’t be fooled.  Most of those yards were picked up in the garbage time of the fourth quarter while Arkansas was playing prevent defense.

    Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen commanded the Razorbacks offense throwing for 243 yards and a touchdown against what statistically was the top defense in the SEC.  Perhaps even more concerning for Florida’s defense, was the fact that Arkansas ran for 223 yards.

    Florida has a huge division matchup against South Carolina at home next week.  South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp will be returning to the Swamp for the first time since being fired after 2014.  You can bet that Muschamp would love to end Florida’s hopes at repeating as SEC East champions.

    COMING THIS WEEK:

    -We will be discussing the injuries suffered in this game as more information becomes available.

    -We will also discuss in a separate article what the Florida offense must do to contend with (gulp) South Carolina

    -We will also be providing a pointed article at the failures of Jim McElwain as he fell to 16-6 in his UF coaching career.

    SEC EAST STANDINGS:

    1. FLORIDA          6-2     4-2
    2. KENTUCKY        5-3     4-2*
    3. TENNESSEE  6-3     2-3
    4. GEORGIA 4-4     2-4*
    5. CAROLINA 5-4     3-4
    6. VANDERBILT 4-5     1-4
    7. MISSOURI 2-7     0-5

    *Teams are playing at time of publishing

    Game Summary:

    1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT FINAL
    FLORIDA 7 0 0 3 X 10
    ARKANSAS 14 7 0 10 X 31

     

    SCORING:

    • 1st Quarter: L. Del Rio pass intercepted by S. Ramirez 24 yards (McFain kick)
    • 1st Quarter: R. Williams 6 yard run (McFain kick)
    • 1st Quarter: A. Allen pass intercepted by D. Dawson 37 yards (Piniero kick)
    • 2nd Quarter: Morgan 7 yard run (McFain kick)
    • 4th Quarter: A. McFain 36 yard FG
    • 4th Quarter: E. Piniero 49 yard FG
    • 4th Quarter: R. Williams 41 yard run (McFain kick)

    PASSING LEADERS:

    FLORIDA ARKANSAS
    Del Rio    19/37, 229 yards, 2 INT Allen         15-26, 243 yards, TD, INT

     

    RUSHING LEADERS:

    FLORIDA ARKANSAS
    Thompson   3 carries, 19 yards Williams      26 carries, 148 yards
    Scarlett         5 carries, 15 yards Whaley        14 carries, 66 yards

     

    RECEIVING LEADERS:

    FLORIDA ARKANSAS
    Callaway     4 receptions, 44 yards Mogan          7 receptions, 95 yards, TD
    Powell        2 receptions, 41 yards Whaley         2 receptions, 69 yards
    Fulwood     2 receptions, 38 yards Sprinkle        3 receptions, 51 yards

     

    TEAM STATS:

      FLORIDA ARKANSAS
    FIRST DOWNS 13 23
    TOTAL PLAYS 51 75
    TOTAL YARDS 241 466
    PASS YARDS 229 243
    RUSHING YARDS 12 223
    TURNOVERS 2 1
    PENALTIES 3-34 9-97
    TIME OF POSSESSION 20:39 39:21

     

    WHAT’S NEXT:

    FLORIDA GATORS VS SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS

    NOVEMBER 12, 2016

    BEN HILL GRIFFIN STADIUM

  • #15 Florida upsets #2 South Carolina, advances to SEC Tournament final

    FINAL: FLORIDA 1, SOUTH CAROLINA 0

    ORANGE BEACH, AL-  The South Carolina Gamecocks had not lost in 2016 until Friday night when the Florida Gators upset the SEC regular season champs. 
    Florida scored in the first half after a shot from Mayra Pelayo hit the crossbar and senior Savannah Jordan lept to head the ball into the net. Pelayo had several opportunities on runs in the first half, with one finally yielding in the game winner. 

    Florida fell to South Carolina during regular season play 1-0 on a second overtime goal. Florida knew they had left opportunities on the field and were determined not do so this time around. 

    Florida advances to the SEC Tournament final on Sunday against #19 Arkansas. The game will kick off at 4:00 PM. 

    Game Summary:

      1st 2nd OT FINAL
    FLORIDA 1 0 X 1
    SOUTH CAROLINA 0 0 X 0

     

    Goal Scorers:

    • 19th minute: JORDAN (14)

    Cautions/Ejections:

    • YELLOW CARD: SOUTH CAROLINA:  Studebaker
    • YELLOW CARD: FLORIDA: Cardano

    Starting Lineups:

    FLORIDA SOUTH CAROLINA
    0-    Solis 0-    Krzeczowski
    2-    Chung 2-    Conklin
    5-    Monteagudo 5-    Groff
    7-    Jordan 6-    Kurtz
    19-  Cardano 7-    McCaskill
    20-  Lester 11-  Drennan
    27-  Pelayo 12-  Babbitt
    28-  Dougherty Howard 14-  Griffin
    31-  Marckese- GK 16-  Robinson
    38-  Seiler 73-  Lane
    81-   Smith 88-  Bendell

     

    What’s Next:

    FLORIDA GATORS vs ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS

    NOVEMBER 6, 2016 AT 4:00 PM

    ORANGE BEACH, AL

    (Photo courtesy of SEC Network)

  • Monteagudo plays hero, leads #15 Florida to SEC semis

    FINAL: FLORIDA 4, MISSOURI 3 (PKs)

    ORANGE BEACH, AL-  The whole world it seemed was swept up in the tense seventh game of the World Series on Wednesday night. Closer to home, however, the Florida Gators soccer team advanced to the SEC tournament semifinals with a hard fought and incredibly tense victory against Missouri that took until the eighth penalty kick to decide a winner. 
    The Gators fell behind in the third minute as Jessica Johnson scored her fourth goal of the season. 

    Florida answered in the 14th minute when Melanie Monteagudo scored off a pass by Sarah Troccoli.  The Gators then took the lead when Troccoli was in the right spot at the right time. Troccoli pushed the ball along after teammate Meggie Dougherty Howard took the initial attempt. 

    The second half belonged to Missouri with the exception of the first couple of minutes. Monteagudo scored her second goal of the game from an incredible angle that may or may not have been intended to be a cross attempt. 

    However, Mizzou attacked and dominated the time of possession in the second half and the result was the two goals needed to tie the game. Melanie Donalson got the first one in the 61st minute, and Johnson scored her second of the game just a minute later. 

    Both teams had a few chances in the final twenty five minutes including a penalty kick opportunity by Donaldson in the 86th minute. Florida goalkeeper Kaylan Marckese played the ball perfect and kept the game even. 

    Florida and Missouri then played two scoreless overtime periods before the game was decided with penalty kicks. Florida owned the majority of possession in the overtime sessions, but were unable to score. 

    The Gators and Tigers combined to make their first 14 PK attempts before Missouri’s Savannah Trujillo got very little on a ball that rolled across the ground and into Marckese’s arms. Florida then just needed to make the next kick and the opportunity fell to Monteagudo, who calmly buried the shot, sending Florida to a matchup against number one seed (and unbeaten) South Carolina on Friday. 

     Game Summary:

      1st 2nd OT FINAL
    FLORIDA 2 1 X 3
    MISSOURI 1 2 X 3

     

    Goal Scorers:

    • 3rd minute: Johnson (4)
    • 14th minute: Monteagudo (7)
    • 23rd minute: Troccoli (3)
    • 47th minute: Monteagudo (8)
    • 61st minute: Donaldson (3)
    • 62nd minute: Johnson (5)

    Cautions/Ejections:

    • YELLOW CARD: MIZZOU:  Donaldson
    • YELLOW CARD: FLORIDA: Dougherty Howard

    Starting Lineups:

    FLORIDA MISSISSIPPI STATE
    2-    Chung 1-    Dossey
    7-    Jordan 2-    Selaiden
    11-  Sharp 4-    Webb
    15-  Troccoli 6-    Frick
    19-  Cardano 7-    Clark
    23-  Middleton 10-  Donaldson
    27-  Pelayo 17-  Luebbert
    28-  Dougherty Howard 20-  Trujillo
    31-  Marckese- GK 22-  Hess
    38-  Seiler 26-  Johnson
    81-   Smith 27-  Johnson

     

    What’s Next:

    FLORIDA GATORS vs SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS

    NOVEMBER 4, 2016 AT 4:30 PM

    ORANGE BEACH, AL

    (Photo courtesy of SEC NETWORK)

  • Former Gator David Ross homers, wins World Series in final game

    CLEVELAND, OH-  Former Florida Gator David Ross decided earlier this season that this would be his final season as a big league baseball player. 

    Ross played for Florida in 1998 after transferring from Auburn. Ross helped lead the Gators to a College World Series appearance and remains one of only a handful of players to ever go to the CWS with two teams. 

    Ross played his final big league game in game 7 of the World Series and will go out on top. 

    In the sixth inning of Game 7 the 39-year old became the oldest player to hit a home run in Game 7. Ross connected and sent a shot 406-feet to center to give the Cubs a 6-3 lead. 

    Ross was carried off the field by his much younger teammates as a champion and as a leader. Ross was never the greatest player statistically, but his veteran presence and leadership helped allow the Cubs to end a 108- year championship drought. 

  • Tim Tebow exits AFL game early with injury

    SCOTTSDALE, AZ-  Tim Tebow has struggled since becoming a professional baseball player. His .147 average reflects such. 

    One of Tebow’s endearing traits on the football field however, was his playing through injury. 

    On Monday, Tebow left a game in the Arizona Fall League in the fourth inning after being caught stealing. Tebow was spotted grabbing below his knee after sliding awkwardly. 

    Tebow was 1-2 in the game before his exit and now has five hits, an RBI and two walks in AFL games. 

    (Information from milb.com was used in this article)

  • Florida ranked #9/10 in polls

    a-natty-trophy

    The Florida Gators are coming off a 24-10 victory against rival Georgia in Jacksonville and found out on Sunday that they are ranked in the Top 25 of both polls. The USA TODAY COACHES POLL has Florida ranked ninth, while the Associated Press puts the Gators tenth.

    Florida travels to Arkansas next Saturday.  Kickoff is set for 3:30 PM EST.

    ASSOCIATED PRESS USA TODAY COACHES POLL
    1.   Alabama (60)                           1524 Alabama (63)                               1599
    2.   Michigan (1)                            1435 Michigan                                      1492
    3.   Clemson                                   1401 Clemson (1)                                 1488
    4.    Washington                            1369 Washington                                 1434
    5.   Louisville                                  1262 Louisville                                      1322
    6.   Ohio State                                1207 Ohio State                                    1269
    7.   Texas A&M                              1150 Texas A&M                                  1207
    8.   Wisconsin                                1122 Wisconsin                                    1147
    9.   Nebraska                                    951 Florida                                          1039
    10.  Florida                                       929 Nebraska                                       963
    11.   Auburn                                     927 Oklahoma                                      907
    12.   Oklahoma                                835 Auburn                                           896
    13.   Baylor                                       693 Baylor                                             810
    14.   West Virginia                          620 LSU                                                  652
    15.   LSU                                           586 West Virginia                                 642
    16.    Utah                                        506 Utah                                                523
    17.    Western Michigan                481 North Carolina                               500
    18.   North Carolina                       423 Western Michigan                        448
    19.   Florida State                           409 Florida State                                   432
    20.    Penn State                             390 Colorado                                         394
    21.    Colorado                                375 Virginia Tech                                  335
    22.    Oklahoma State                    355 Oklahoma State                             298
    23.    Virginia Tech                         345 Penn State                                      296
    24.     Boise State                           203 Boise State                                      266
    25.     Washington State               139 Washington State                          146

     

  • #17 Florida defeats Mizzou 1-0, Marckese and Lester earn SEC POW honors

    FINAL: FLORIDA 1, MISSOURI 0

    COLUMBIA, MO-  The Florida Gators soccer team completed the regular season winning seven of their last eight after a 1-0 victory at Missouri.  The Gators only loss in that time was an overtime loss to undefeated South Carolina.  Florida improved to 13-4 and 8-3 in SEC play.  Missouri finished 11-6-1 and 6-4-1.
    Florida scored the lone goal when freshman Julia Lester volleyed a shot from 20 yards out after a failed clearance by a Missouri defender off a corner kick.

    Florida Goalkeeper Kaylan Marckese made four saves en route the shutout.  This was Marckese’s seventh shutout of 2016.  Florida was outshot by Mizzou 16-14 and Missouri had more corner kicks with a 9-7 edge.

    Florida and Missouri will face each other in the SEC tournament on Wednesday night.  Florida and had  earned the #4 seed while the Tigers earned the #5 seed.  The game will be played at 8:30 PM in Orange Beach, AL.

    The SEC announced Friday that Kaylan Marckese and Julia Lester earned conference Player of the Week awards.

    Marckese won the SEC Defender of the Week while Lester earned the SEC Freshman of the Week honors.  This is the second honor for Marckese and the first in the career of Lester.

     

    Game Summary:

      1st 2nd OT FINAL
    FLORIDA 1 0 X 1
    MISSOURI 0 0 X 0

     

    Goal Scorers:

    • 36th minute: LESTER (2)

    Cautions/Ejections:

    • YELLOW CARD: MIZZOU:  Joseph
    • YELLOW CARD: MIZZOU: Webb
    • YELLOW CARD: FLORIDA: Smith
    • YELLOW CARD: MIZZOU:  Donaldson

    Starting Lineups:

    FLORIDA MISSISSIPPI STATE
    2-    Chung 1-    Dossey
    7-    Jordan 2-    Selaiden
    11-  Sharp 4-    Webb
    15-  Troccoli 6-    Frick
    19-  Cardano 7-    Clark
    23-  Middleton 10-  Donaldson
    27-  Pelayo 17-  Luebbert
    28-  Dougherty Howard 20-  Trujillo
    31-  Marckese- GK 22-  Hess
    38-  Seiler 26-  Johnson
    81-   Smith 27-  Johnson

     

    What’s Next:

    FLORIDA GATORS vs MISSOURI TIGERS

    NOVEMBER 2, 2016 AT 8:30 PM

    ORANGE BEACH, AL

  • Florida RB Thompson cited for marijuana possession, suspended vs Georgia

    GAINESVILLE, FL-  Florida Gators running back Mark Thompson was cited for marijuana possession early Thursday morning. 
    UF announced via Twitter that Thompson, “will not be making the trip to Jacksonville due to some choices and decisions he’s made.”

    Thompson was stopped by UFPD at 12:35 AM after running a stop sign on West Fraternity Drive. 

    Thompson received a notice to appear in court for possession of marijuana as well as failure to stop, and failure to provide proof of insurance. 

    Thompson has rushed for 262 yards and two touchdowns on the season.