BATON ROUGE – LSU’s junior goalkeeper Catalina Rubiano turned in a series of highlight-reel saves early in the first half to keep the Tigers level, but the eighth-ranked Florida Gators flexed their offensive muscle throughout the match while netting three goals with no reply to take home a 3-0 victory on Sunday afternoon at the LSU Soccer Stadium.
The Tigers (5-12-2, 1-8-1 SEC) started brightly with Rubiano making the first of her six saves for the contest with a quick reaction to deny Florida’s All-American striker Savannah Jordan from close range just two minutes from the opening kick. It would be a theme over the next 20 minutes as Rubiano stood tall in the face of the Florida attack.
All-SEC striker Summer Clarke gave the home side its best chance to score the breakthrough just seven minutes in when she was played in behind Florida’s high back line and raced clear on a breakaway.
Clarke bided her time while playing off the shoulder of one of the Gator center backs and raced onto a through ball played from central midfield by fellow All-SEC performer Emma Fletcher. The Gators’ left back Lauren Silver recovered well in defense to challenge Clarke and snuff out the chance as LSU’s star striker eyed a one-on-one opportunity with goalkeeper Taylor Burke.
Rubiano held her ground again midway through the first half when she dove to her left to deny a 10-yard strike by Gator midfielder Havana Solaun in the 19th minute before reacting quickly yet again with a leaping save over the crossbar on an attempt by Jordan from near the penalty spot in the 22nd minute of play to keep the match scoreless in the face of Florida’s pressure.
But the Gators unlocked the LSU defense just a minute later when Solaun played Jordan in behind the Tigers’ back line for a right-footed blast past Rubiano and into the roof of the net again from near the penalty spot to give the visitors a 1-0 lead at the 22:47 mark of the first half. It was the team-leading 14th goal of the season for Florida’s All-American as Jordan added to her SEC-leading goal tally on the season.
The Gators (13-4, 8-2) doubled their advantage just three minutes from halftime when first-half substitute Brooke Smith finished inside the left post from 10 yards out after being played into space by Betsy Middleton. It was the second goal of the season for Smith as she pushed Florida’s lead to 2-0 in the 42nd minute of play.
Solaun made it 3-0 to the visitors just six minutes from the restart when she netted her fifth goal of the season in the 51st minute after dribbling through the Tiger defense and rounding Rubiano for the finish.
Clarke again gave the Tigers their best chance to pull a goal back late in the second half when she was played in behind the Gator defense by Natalia Gomez-Junco in midfield for an angled effort from about eight yards just beyond the right side of the six-yard box in the 86th minute. Burke was quick off line to close the angle on Clarke and make a sprawling save out of play for an LSU corner kick.
The scoreboard read LSU 0, Florida 3 at the full-time whistle as the Tigers suffered their sixth defeat on the spin in SEC play this season and their third-straight defeat to the Gators in the series since the 2012 season.
The Tigers will look to go out with a victory in 2014 as they return to action on Thursday night by playing host to the Auburn Tigers in a match that is scheduled to kick off at 7:05 p.m. CDT at the LSU Soccer Stadium. It is a match that will be featured on the SEC Network+ as fans can watch the Tigers in action at http://www.ESPN3.com or by using the Watch ESPN app available on all smartphones and tablets.