The No. 15 University of Florida soccer team (4-3-2, 0-1 SEC) suffered its first loss ever to Georgia (8-1, 1-0 SEC) by a score of 2-1 Friday evening in front of a season-best Turner Soccer Complex crowd of 2,232. It was the first win for the Bulldogs in the all-time 18-match series, as UF’s advantage now drops to 16-1-1. The result marks the second time in UF’s program’s history that it opened league play with a loss.

Georgia scored early in the match when Carrie Patterson’s deep right cross could not be handled cleanly by UF goalkeeper Katie Fraine, sliding through her hands into the far corner of the goal at 3:41. The Bulldogs scored again at 18:41, when Marah Falle timed her run perfectly to run onto the pass from Rachel Barstow and score on the 1v1 situation. It is the first time in the 18-match series that the Bulldogs have scored more than one goal versus the Gators.

Florida got on the board at 59:22 when Stacy Bishop scored on a six-yard shot. The play was started with Melanie Booth serving up a free kick from just a few steps above the 18-yard box. The ball bounced around among the traffic in the box until Bishop was able to head it over the goalkeeper’s head into the left post corner for her second goal of the season.

The Gators, who outshot the Bulldogs 21-10, had several chances to tie the match. Those chances include with less than 15 minutes left, KeLeigh Hudson nearly sticking in the tying goal as she looked to back heel in the ball off the corner kick at the near post, but she couldn’t quite get the control needed to execute the play. In the sixth minute, Shelley Lyle got her head on the corner kick, but her shot was wide of the post.

Friday’s match marked the first appearance of the season for freshman goalkeeper Meghan Berlingo. She replaced Fraine in goal to start the second half and recorded one save. She made a stop of UGA’s Patterson in the 76^th minute, who was just starting to take the ball into the box, covering the ball to end the scoring threat.

“We gave up a soft early goal and I think that set the tone for the match. It’s tough to climb out of a 2-0 hole. I thought our effort was terrific in the second half but when you are chasing a lead, it’s tough,” said UF Head Coach Becky Burleigh. “We have a choice now. There is one of two ways we can go with this right now. We either come out of this weekend 1-1 or we get the weekend handed to us. It is up to us to choose our path. We are capable of doing it – it is just a matter of which team shows up.”

Next up, the Gators continue SEC Eastern Division road action when they meet No. 10 Tennessee (6-1-1, 1-0 SEC) on Sunday, Sept. 30 in a match that will be televised live at 2 p.m. on COX Sports (Cox Cable Channel 67 in Gainesville/Ocala). The Lady Vols opened SEC play with a home 3-2 OT win over South Carolina Thursday evening. The match can also be heard on WRUF-AM 850 and simulcast on Cox Channel 96 and www.GatorZone.com.