UK women’s soccer suffered a heartbreaking defeat in overtime at the hands of the No. 5 Florida Gators on Thursday night at the Bell Soccer Complex.

After a scoreless first half dominated by the Gators, the game quickly exploded into a high energy matchup.

Florida came out in the second half and immediately took aim at UK goalie Evangeline Soucie. 

The Gators continued to challenge and ramp up the intensity, but Soucie never wavered, remaining extremely solid in net.

“She definitely made some big saves that kept us in the game and kept us alive. She was definitely the key to this game,” said senior defender Zoe Swift.

Getting closer to the final minutes, Gators midfielder Gabby Seiler fired one past Soucie to give UF a 1-0 advantage.

As the clock was winding down in the final minutes, Swift scored from a rebound off a corner kick. The Cats tied the game with Swift’s goal and sent the crowd into a frenzy.

“It felt awesome to get the team back in the game, to give my team another chance,” Swift said about her goal.

The Cats and the Gators were then set to battle into overtime with the Gators holding a 25-3 advantage in shots.

In the second overtime period Florida’s Maggie Daugherty-Howard blasted one past Soucie for the game-winner and sent the fifth ranked Gators home with a 2-1 victory. 

The Cats now sit at 3-3-1 and host Murray State Sunday at 6 p.m. at the Bell Soccer Complex.