The No. 4 University of Florida women’s soccer team defeated Alabama 3-1 Friday evening in front of a rowdy UA Soccer Complex crowd of 523. The Gators now owns a 15-1 record, 7-0 SEC, while Alabama drops to 9-5-1, 5-2 SEC.

"We had trouble finishing tonight," UF Head Coach Becky Burleigh said. "It was a physical match, as it always is when these two teams play, but I don’t think that was a big factor."

Florida had plenty of looks at the goal in the first half, but the Gators didn’t get one across the line until their 10^th shot. Junior Sarah Yohe hit a short shot off UA goalkeeper Rachel Brown’s deflection at 43:44 to give the Gators a 1-0 lead at halftime. The Gators held the Crimson Tide to zero shots in the opening half of play.

Yohe struck again for the Gators at 62:08 off the assist from Karyn Hall to put UF up 2-0. But the Crimson Tide’s Melissa McGee hit a 10-yard shot to the far post just 53 seconds later to narrow UF’s lead to 2-1. UF’s Danielle Fotopoulos gave the Gators some additional breathing room late in the match, hitting a running short shot off the pass from Yohe at 86:11.

Florida goalkeeper Meredith Flaherty recorded two saves in Friday’s match, while UA’s Brown registered 12 saves. For the match, UF outshot UA 21-5.

Next up, the Gators travel to Columbia, S.C., to meet South Carolina on Sunday, Oct. 25 at 3 p.m.