Two Gators turned in the first multi-goal matches of their collegiate careers Sunday as the No. 18 Florida soccer team (2-1-1) defeated Louisiana-Lafayette (1-3-1) 6-1 Sunday afternoon in front of a James G. Pressly Stadium crowd of 802. The win is the 200^th for Florida, as the program now owns an overall record of 200-50-13 (.785).

Sophomores Ameera Abdullah and Megan Kerns each turned in two goals Sunday for the first multi-goal matches of their collegiate careers. The Gators’ first goals of each half were turned in by Abdullah. Her first score at 2:01 was UF’s earliest goal of the season. Angela Napolitano had the ball at the top of the box and saw Abdullah making the run on the left side. Abdullah received the ball and put it in at the far post from 10 yards for her first goal of 2006. Abdullah also turned in the Gators earliest goal of the 2005 season, hitting a goal at 3:49 of Florida’s 2-0 win versus Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Sept. 11.

“I was just working hard to get to the ball and it just kind of presented itself,” Abdullah said. “I found myself in position where I was right in the middle of the box and just needed to lay the ball to the opposite corner and that’s what I did.”

Her second goal started when Shana Hudson made the overlapping run and served the ball from the endline to Stacy Bishop at the top of the box. Bishop sent the ball to Abdullah, who was unmarked inside the box. Abdullah hit the 10-yard low shot to the far post at 49:05.

Three shots by the Gators finally resulted in a goal at 23:35 for Kerns. Bishop took the first shot, but it was blocked. Abdullah collected the ball, but her shot hit the cross bar. Kerns, making her first start of the season, put in the deflection for her first goal of 2006.  She also scored again at 56:55 when freshman Tricia Townsend served the ball from the left side into the box. Kerns put the ball in from 10 yards for her second goal of the match.

“That one (the first goal) was a huge surprise. It just kind of smacked me on the head; it really wasn’t on purpose. I have to be honest, I wasn’t ready for that,” Kerns said. “That (the second goal) was exciting because I felt like it was actually earned rather than just being there.”

Bianca Gibbs one-touched the ball into the net from five yards at 69:09 for her first goal of the season off the assists from Jessica Eicken and Ashlee Elliott. Eicken and Elliott teamed up at 76:15 for Elliott’s second goal of the season. Eicken served a high ball that bounced in the six-yard box and Elliott tapped it in for the Gators’ final goal of the match.

The Ragin’ Cajuns scored on their only shot of the match, as Erin Thompson hit a 10-yard shot off a free kick deflection at 81:53.

UF Coach Becky Burleigh was pleased with the Gators’ rebound from Friday’s 1-0 loss to Fresno State.

“I think we were pretty motivated to come out and try to score some goals, and let the ball do the work as opposed to being more dribble-oriented. When we move the ball, and we move off the ball, we generally play very well,” Burleigh said. “We were really unselfish today. We had open shots in front of the goal but we were able to pass to teammates who were more open. That unselfishness really pays off.

“The best part of being on a team is getting to step between the lines and play. Sometimes on Sunday, when it’s hot and you’ve played a tough game on Friday night, it can be a little bit of a drag if you let it be,” she continued. “Our players did a good job of preparing themselves to play right from the start.”

Next up, the first road trip of the season sends the Gators to Tallahassee to meet No. 6 and 2005 NCAA College Cup semifinalist Florida State in a match that will be televised live by Sun Sports on Friday, Sept. 8 at 8 p.m. Friday’s match can also be heard live on WRUF-AM 850.