Two goals in each half gave defending NCAA soccer champion Notre Dame (3-0) a 4-1 win over No. 19 Florida (1-1) Friday evening in front of an Alumni Field crowd of 2,086. The match was the first meeting between these two teams.

The Fightin’ Irish scored early as the national player of the week freshman Kerri Hanks turned in her eighth goal in three matches. Hanks received the through ball and hit the 10-yard shot to the far post. Notre Dame took advantage of a corner kick opportunity at 17:40 to up the score to 2-0. Amanda Cinalli headed in the Katie Thorlakson corner kick for her second goal of the season.

Immediately the Gators were on the attack coming out of the halftime break. Sophomore KeLeigh Hudson’s shot within the first minute banged off the cross bar. The Gators scored in the 80^th minute when Jasmine Johnson turned in her second score of the season. KeLeigh Hudson sent the ball from the top of the box to the far corner. Melanie Booth crossed the ball into the box where Johnson one-touched it into the goal at the near post.

“Their line was pushed up pretty high. I knew Mel was going to beat her girl so I timed my run and held off a couple of seconds until she was going to serve the ball,” Johnson said. “I just sprinted to the front post and I was able to flick it in.”

Notre Dame also scored twice in the second half. Junior Christine Shaner crossed the ball from deep in the corner. Thorlakson hit her first score of the evening at 62:49 with a one-touch shot into the goal. She added her second goal at 75:12 when she successfully converted the penalty kick.

Although the score wasn’t what she was looking for, UF Head Coach Becky Burleigh saw some positives from the Gators.

“I like the mentality of our team,” Burleigh said. “We’ve got to get a lot better defensively. I thought we performed well against them up top and the goal we finished was an awesome goal from the first pass, to the serve and to the finish.  We committed some mental errors tonight and those mental errors cost us. When you play a team like Notre Dame they will capitalize on any chances. I thought they had a wonderful attack. But I also liked our attack.”

For the match, ND outshot the Gators 15-7. Florida’s Jen Gardner turned in four saves in goal while ND’s Erika Bohn posted three.

This match will air on Cox Cable in the Gainesville and Ocala areas on Thursday, Sept. 8 at 8 p.m. and again Saturday, Sept. 10 at 4 p.m. The match will air on Cox Cable channel 15.

Next up, the Gators continue action at The Inn at St. Mary’s Classic on Sunday when they meet No. 9 Connecticut (2-1). The Huskies defeated Maryland 2-1 2OT in Friday’s opening match. That match begins at noon and can be heard live on WRUF-AM 850 and at www.GatorZone.com.