The No. 17 University of Florida soccer team (6-2-1, 1-0-1 SEC) used two first-half goals to claim a 2-1 victory over Auburn (2-5-1, 1-1 SEC) Sunday afternoon in front of a James G. Pressly Stadium crowd of 1,007. The win marked the fifth consecutive meeting between the two teams that was decided by a single goal.

Florida’s two opening half goals were the first of the season for both Gator scorers as they played a role in each other’s goals. Senior Jessica Young put in the rebound off of sophomore Bianca Gibbs’ shot at 39:21.

“We finally got it out on the flanks and got a great cross. It was just kind of bumping around. It was a scrappy goal, but it got in the back of the net. I just got something on the end of it and it happened to roll in,” Young said.

Just over two minutes later, Gibbs scored the first goal of her collegiate career off the assists from Young and freshman Megan Kerns at 41:37.

“Somebody passed the ball to Jess down line and she lost the ball, but she won it back. She brought it down and crossed it to Megan. Megan trapped it and then passed it off to me. I took a one-time shot into the left corner and it deflected off one of the defenders,” Gibbs said. “I was upset after Friday (UF tied Alabama 2-2), so I knew we had to win this game. So I was excited that I scored.”

The Tigers cut the lead in half at 59:52 when senior Courtney Crandell hit a 10-yard shot off the cross from Lauren Stewart. The goal was the first for Crandell this season.

The Gators substituted frequently Sunday, with almost all the players recording double-digit minutes. UF Head Coach Becky Burleigh said the coaching staff is looking for something specific from the players.

“We talked yesterday on our day off about being disciplined on our runs towards the ball and we basically told all of our players that we are going to play people who are disciplined. Today, our goals actually came from some pretty disciplined plays,” she said. “You’ll see more substitutions until our team can become more disciplined.”

“I think our team has done a good job of generating a lot of energy for Sunday matches, and that’s half the battle on hot days like today,” Burleigh continued. “It’s been a very long weekend and sometimes when you can generate more energy, you can gain an edge on the opponent.”

Florida travels next weekend for its first league road action. The Gators open the weekend at defending SEC champion Tennessee on Friday, Sept. 30 at 7:30 p.m. The match will air on SEC-TV and in the state of Florida, the match airs tape-delayed on Sun Sports beginning at 8 p.m. The match can also be heard live on WRUF-AM 850. Then UF meets Georgia on Sunday, Oct. 2 at 1 p.m.