Syracuse defeated Florida 12-11 in overtime on Saturday in Gainesville, bouncing back from Wednesday’s loss to No. 1 Northwestern.

Katie Webster bounced a shot from the eight-meter arc past Gators goaltender Mikey Meagher 45 seconds into the second overtime period, leading the No. 11 Orange (2-2) to victory over No. 5 Florida (4-2). The win marked SU’s first over a top-five opponent in six years.

Syracuse opened the game strong, taking a 6-4 lead into halftime. And 1:33 into the second half, Webster extended SU’s advantage to three goals.

After 3-0 runs from each side left SU with a 10-7 lead, UF mimicked a feat the Orange accomplished three days ago against the Wildcats — scoring three unanswered goals in the closing minutes of regulation to force overtime. Florida attack Kitty Cullen culminated the comeback with 57 seconds in regulation, beating sophomore goaltender Alyssa Costantino and tying the score at 10-10.

SU senior midfielder Sarah Holden swung the momentum back in the Orange’s favor, tallying her team-high third goal of the game on a shorthanded score 2:12 into extra time. But Florida’s Brittany Dashiell re-tied the game with a minute and a half left in the first overtime, forcing a second period.

Webster scored 55 seconds into that period and the Orange held on for the victory.

—Compiled by Stephen Bailey, asst. copy editor, sebail01@syr.edu 

Published on March 3, 2012 at 12:00 pm