The No. 22 University of Florida soccer team (10-3-1, 5-1-1 SEC) used two goals in each half to post a 4-0 win over Mississippi State (2-9-3, 1-6 SEC) Friday evening in front of a MSU Senior Night crowd of 316.

Melanie Booth turned in the Gators first goal at 25:19. Freshman Katie Green sent the ball into the box from the end line, where Booth one-touched it past MSU goalkeeper Emily Meyers into the upper slot of the near post. The goal moved Booth into a share of the UF season goal lead at five. Green, who was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday, now leads the Gators with five assists this season.

Sophomore Bianca Gibbs gave the Gators a boost heading into halftime with her fourth goal of the season. Gibbs dribbled the ball toward the goal just above the box. Her left-footed shot took an unexpected angle after deflecting off MSU defender Meredith Jacobson and scored at the far-post corner at 44:42. Gibbs leads UF with four goals in conference matches.

Senior Cherry Pickman gave the Gators a 3-0 lead early in the second half at 48:37. Sophomore Ashley Harris sent the ball from just inside midfield into the box, where it found freshman Megan Kerns at the top of the box. She flicked the ball forward where it found Pickman, who hit the short shot at the near post.

“It was a really good ball from Ashley. We talked about playing balls earlier, so she played a big ball in. Megan flicked it on and I just sort of finished it,” Pickman said.

Pickman picked up her second goal of the match at 78:00 for her first multi-goal match of the season and the second of her career. Pickman had her back to the goal with the ball in the box. She took a couple of touches, then turned to face the goal. Her shot from 15-yards was stopped by MSU goalkeeper Stephanie Dallas, who had come into the match early in the second half. Dallas bobbled the ball to give the Gators the final margin of 4-0. With her two goals Friday, Pickman leads UF with 14 points and shares the season goal lead at five with Booth.

Two years ago, Florida was stunned with a 1-0 loss at Mississippi State. Pickman said that match was on the minds of the Gators tonight.

“Four goals tonight showed high intensity. It was really nice,” Pickman said. “We had a really sad story here two years ago with a loss we shouldn’t have had. It is sort of crunch time now in the SEC – we’ve got to win our games.”

UF Head Coach Becky Burleigh was pleased with the Gators’ ability to find the goal Friday against a team with a defensive reputation.

“The biggest thing tonight is that we took care of business,” Burleigh said. “This is not an easy team to play against because they are so defensive oriented. To score four goals against that was impressive. It was a good win.”

Next up, the Gators travel to Oxford, Miss., to meet SEC Western Division leader Mississippi on Sunday, Oct. 16. Match time is set for 2 p.m. (ET) and the match can be heard live on www.GatorZone.com.