The University of Florida soccer team (2-2-1) couldn’t find the equalizer for a late first half goal and lost 1-0 at No. 2 Florida State (4-0) Friday evening in front of a record Seminole Soccer Complex crowd of 4,582. It is the second largest crowd ever for the annual showdown, with the largest crowd of 4,745 coming in Gainesville on Aug. 27, 1999.

The Seminoles’ Sel Kuralay scored on an unassisted 30-yard shot at 43:02 that gave FSU what turned out to be the final margin. It was the second consecutive year that Kuralay hit a long first half goal versus Florida, as she hit a 25-yard shot in the 2005 meeting in Gainesville to tie the match 2-all. FSU eventually won the 2005 meeting 4-2.

“You have to give her credit (for the goal). She looked up and took the shot,” UF Head Coach Becky Burleigh said. “For the game to come down to that goal is pretty tough.”

“I thought we played with a lot of effort and we did have some good chances. It was a pretty even game, I thought,” she continued. “I’m sure we’ll see each other again.”

Perhaps the Gators’ best chance of the opening half came in the 24^th minute when freshman Angela Napolitano won the ball from a FSU defender deep in the Seminole half. Sophomore Megan Kerns took the square pass from Napolitano, spun and took the shot which was stopped by a diving Ali Mims.

In the 52^nd minute, the Gators were awarded a free kick just steps above the box. Junior Stacy Bishop took the shot that was saved for a corner kick, but the Gators couldn’t covert on the set play. Ameera Abdullah also had an excellent look in the 72nd minute. Bishop crossed the ball deep from the end line and found Abdullah in the box, but her shot went wide of the far post.

“It was frustrating - very frustrating to lose to your rival team,” UF tri-captain Shelley Lyle said. “We had good chances and played right with them. But we fell short by one goal. We gave up a soft goal, which seems to be our huge problem, but yet we couldn’t put one away. It is frustrating, but at the same time, we are learning. We will work on what we didn’t do well today and move on from here.

Florida returns home to play host to Jacksonville on Sunday, Sept. 10. Match time is set for 1:30 p.m. at the James G. Pressly Stadium and admission is free. The UF-JU match can be heard live on WRUF AM 850. Live, streaming video is also available – just click on www.GatorVision.tv for more information.