No. 7 Florida Soccer Looks to Clinch Share of SEC Title vs Arkansas in Final Home Match
Wednesday, October 22, 2008 | Soccer
The No. 7 Florida soccer team (13-2-1, 8-0 SEC) plays host to Southeastern Conference Western Division rival Arkansas (11-5, 4-4 SEC) for its 2008 regular-season home finale on Thursday. Match time is set for 7 p.m. at the James G. Pressly Stadium. Admission is free for all Gator soccer regular-season matches.
Florida leads the current SEC standings with its 8-0 record. Arkansas is tied for seventh in the SEC standings with its record of 4-4. Both teams will be looking for a win on Thursday, as a victory would clinch at least a share of the 2008 SEC title for the Gators and an Arkansas win would keep the Razorbacks in the running for a spot in the SEC Tournament. Teams receive three points for a win and a tie is worth one point toward the league standings. With three matches remaining, Florida owns 24 points and LSU is next with 18 points. The top eight teams advance to the SEC Tournament in Orange Beach , Ala.
The last five meetings between UF and Arkansas have been decided by a single goal. In the 2006 and 2007 meetings, former Gator Ashley Harris turned in the game-winning goals, including the 1-0 2OT winner the last time the Razorbacks visited Gainesville in 2006. In the all-time series, UF leads 12-0.
| Florida vs Arkansas Match Promotions |
| Publix Giveaway – The first 500 fans receive Publix reusable shopping bags. Gators Go Green Day – GRU will be on hand to provide energy saving tips. The first 250 to the match who bring in apparel with another team's logo to “recycle” will receive a free Gator Soccer morph ball. Three-Legged Race – Two (2) teams compete in a 3-legged race while dribbling the ball, the first team to score a goal wins a Gator prize pack! Dodge Shoot Out – One contestant will be selected to kick 3 out of 5 balls into the net from mid-field. If successful, he/she wins $250 in cash! |
Florida collected a pair of road wins last weekend in the state of Alabama. The Gators opened the weekend with a 1-0 win at Auburn. The lone goal of the match came from freshman Tahnai Annis, who scored her sixth goal of the season in the 25th minute. On Sunday, Florida matched its season-high goal output in a 6-1 win at Alabama. Senior Megan Kerns led Florida with her first collegiate hat-trick. The three goals marked her third multi-goal match of the season and moved her into sole possession of UF's season goals (9) and points (24) lead. For the match, she tallied eight points (three goals, two assists), pushing her collegiate points total to 51. She is the 15th Gator in the program's 14-year history to pass the 50-points mark. She wasn't the only Gator to turn in a multi-goal match Sunday – freshman Lindsay Thompson scored twice within a four-minute span of the second half. Junior Angela Napolitano also scored a goal at Alabama.
After her three-goal match at Alabama, Kerns was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week. She also was named to two national teams of the week by TopDrawerSoccer.com and SoccerBuzz.com.
Arkansas is led this season by senior Lindsay Patterson with 15 points off of six goals and three assists. Arkansas opened league play with a pair of wins versus Mississippi (2-0) and Mississippi State (1-0) before losing the next four – at Georgia (2-1 2OT), at Tennessee (2-0), versus Alabama (3-1) and versus Auburn (2-1). The Razorbacks broke the losing streak last weekend with a 3-1 win over Kentucky and a 2-1 win versus Vanderbilt. In road matches in 2008, UA is 5-2.
SUN Sports will air Thursday's match live, with the Voice of the Gators Mick Hubert and Matthew Stubbington calling the action. The match can also be heard live on WRUF AM 850 or on the simulcasts on Gator Radio - Cox Channel 96/946 in Gainesville and GatorZone.com with Ryan Collins covering the action.
