An early score gave the No. 13 University of Florida soccer team (1-0, 0-0 SEC) a 1-0 win over Indiana (0-1, 0-0 Big Ten) Friday evening in front of a James G. Pressly Stadium crowd of 1,179. It was the season opener for both teams.

Senior KeLeigh Hudson turned in the first goal of the season. Her opportunity came when junior Ameera Abdullah’s right shot was deflected by Indiana goalkeeper Lauren Hollandsworth. She couldn’t gather the ball in and Hudson made good on the six-yard opportunity at 12:31.

The Gators had an excellent opportunity to score just five minutes later when Abdullah’s shot was again deflected by Hollandsworth. The ball was near the goal line, but the Gator shot was over the crossbar. That was not the only near miss for Florida Friday evening, as three other Gator shots hit the post. But UF’s Becky Burleigh, starting her 13^th season as head of the Gator program, thought missed opportunities were key to tonight’s momentum.

“That’s the good news, that we came away with a win,” Burleigh said. “We did not play as well as we hoped. Our touch was not where it needed to be and we just got out of rhythm a little bit. Maybe Indiana had a lot to do with that.

“If we score the sitter on the two, the one right after we scored the first goal, then the game is over. When you hit 2-0 that quick, it’s over,” she continued. “But that starts to wear on you when you miss opportunities and that’s something we’ve got to be more disciplined about. I felt as a team that we let down a little bit mentally after we scored. We didn’t have enough killer instinct to go right after them.”

Florida’s goalkeeper Katie Fraine earned her first collegiate solo shutout Friday, which was challenged by the Hoosiers late in the second half. Fraine was off her line to make a stop with about 15 minutes left in regulation. The ball was loose in the box, but in the scrum, Fraine couldn’t get to it to make the cover. IU’s Leigh Anne Cummings had an excellent look at the goal, but sent her shot over the crossbar. With about eight minutes remaining, Fraine made two saves within a 10-second span and she ended the evening with a total of four saves.

“They came out hard and at the end especially it seemed like they had a burst of energy. Luckily we held them off,” Fraine said. “We are happy with a win in our first game. We don’t like 1-nothing games, but we’ll take it – a win is a win.”

Next up, 2006 NCAA College Cup runner-up and current No. 2 Notre Dame makes its first visit to Pressly Stadium. Notre Dame opened the season Friday with a 0-0 2OT tie versus Michigan. It’s “Pack Pressly” Day at Florida soccer and the first 2,500 fans will receive an orange t-shirt compliments of SUN Sports. Sunday’s match will be shown live on SUN Sports, with Mick Hubert and Andy Warner handling the announcing duties. The match can also be heard live on WRUF-AM 850.