UF roundup: Soccer team wins 2-1 at Mississippi State
STARKVILLE, Miss. — First-half goals by Kit Loferski and Georgia Eaton-Collins gave Florida's soccer team a 2-1 win over Mississippi State on Sunday evening .
Florida (3-5-3 overall) is now 2-0-1 in Southeastern Conference play and is one of three teams unbeaten in 2021 league play. Mississippi State is 2-4-3, 0-2-1 SEC.
"It was a very hard, challenging schedule and I think it could have gone one of two ways," first-year UF coach Tony Amato said. "You could have not handled it very well and go in the tank. Or you could overcome the adversity and find a way to work through it to chip away at getting better so you could go on to win some games.
"I think this team has done a really good job of working through that and coming out the other side of it. We've turned that adversity into successes here as we've started conference play. I think that will set us up as we maneuver the rest of the season."
The opening goal in the 30th minute started when Cameron Hall sent the ball forward to Kouri Peace at the top of the Bulldogs' defensive third. Her header flicked to just above the top of the box was run down by Loferski for 15-yard right-footed strike to the far post.
A set piece led to the Gators' second goal in the 35th minute. Senior Georgia Eaton-Collins headed in Delaney Tauzel's corner kick for her first goal of 2021.
The Bulldogs cut the lead to one in the 38th minute with Hailey Farrington-Bentil's 15-yard strike to the far post.
Florida continues play against Magnolia State rivals next Sunday when Mississippi comes to Gainesville for a 3 p.m. contest.
Women's golf
Multiple career lows from the Florida women's golf team guided them to a third-place finish at the Mason Rudolph Championship at Franklin, Tenn., on Sunday.
The Gators placed third in back-to-back tournaments and under par, concluding the weekend at 11-under after shooting 6-under on Saturday and seven Sunday. The third-place finish is the best performance at the Mason Rudolph Championship all-time. Oregon (836, -6) and Alabama (852, -12) topped the field.
Maisie Filler concluded the final round achieving multiple career marks. The sophomore turned in career low 67 (-5) en route to her best tournament score at 212 (-4) and finish at T10. After one under on the front nine, she stayed perfect the rest of the way and birdied four of the last five.
Also achieving a tournament low, Clara Manzalini shot a 211 (-5) to lead the UF lineup at T7. She recorded her second consecutive low round (-2) and her second tournament under par this fall. Annabell Fuller mirrored Manzalini and ended the weekend under par (-1) for the second straight outing.
Marina Escobar had her lowest round (70/-2) of the weekend today to squeeze in the top-25 at T23 for two top-25 finishes to start the season.
Florida heads to the Wind City Classic next from Oct. 4-5.