No. 12 Florida Soccer Team Plays Host to Mississippi State; Gators' Three Seniors Honored
Saturday, October 11, 2008 | Soccer
The No. 12 Florida soccer team (10-2-1, 5-0 SEC) continues action versus Southeastern Conference Western Division rivals Sunday when it plays host to Mississippi State (5-9, 0-5 SEC). Match time is set for 1 p.m. at the James G. Pressly Stadium. Admission is free for all 2008 Gator soccer regular-season matches.
Florida leads the current SEC standings with its 5-0 record. Although Mississippi State is winless so far in league play, the Bulldogs have lost three SEC matches by a single goal, including a 2-1 loss at the current No. 2 team in the SEC standings, South Carolina, on Friday.
Sunday's match is Senior Day and Florida's three seniors – Ameera Abdullah? Megan Kerns and Liz Ruberry – will be honored in a pre-match ceremony.
| Florida vs Mississippi State Match Promotions |
| • Senior Day – Florida's three seniors (Ameera Abdullah, Megan Kerns and Liz Ruberry) will be honored in a pre-match ceremony • Carnival Sunday – Kids can play on the inflatable bouncer and slide and can have their faces painted by the O2B Kids face painters! |
Florida suffered its only loss in the UF-MSU series in Starkville, Miss., as the Bulldogs posted a 1-0 win over UF in 2003. Last year, Florida posted a 5-0 road win over MSU. Only one of UF's 2007 goal scorers versus MSU is back this season –Ruberry scored the final goal of the opening half to give UF a 3-0 lead. Other goal scorers in the 2007 meeting were Shana Hudson, Ashley Harris, Bianca Gibbs (2 goals). In the all-time series, UF leads 8-1.
The sixth-fastest goal in school-history that scored just a tick away from 60 seconds into the match turned out to be the game-winner, as Florida posted a 1-0 win versus Mississippi on Friday, Oct. 10. The goal by Abdullah gave her the 60th point of her collegiate career, as she now owns 22 goals and 16 assists. On Sept. 28, Abdullah became the 14th Gator to pass the 50-career points mark and now just three matches later, she becomes the eighth member of UF's 60-career points club.
Mississippi State is led this season by a pair of Bulldogs with eight points each - senior Kevyn Shelledy (three goals and two assists) and freshman Tarah Henderson (four goals). Mississippi State has dropped its first five matches of the SEC season – vs LSU (4-1), vs Arkansas (1-0), at Alabama (1-0), at Auburn (6-0) and at South Carolina (2-1). In road matches in 2008, MSU is 2-5.
Live streaming video, stats and audio of Sunday's match are available on GatorVision, with Matthew Stubbington and Adam Schick calling the action. Check www.GatorZone.com for complete information.
