Florida Soccer Meets California Friday in NCAA First Round Action at Pressly Stadium
Thursday, November 13, 2008 | Soccer
No. 2 regional seed Florida (17-3-1, 11-0 SEC) plays host to California (10-8-1, 3-5-1 Pac 10) in NCAA Championship opening round action on Friday, Nov. 14. Match time is set for 4 p.m. at the James G. Pressly Stadium. Following the Florida-Cal match, UCF faces Miami (Fla.) in the other first-round match. Friday's winners meet Sunday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. Tickets for Friday's match are $7.00 for adults and $3.00 for children 12 and under, senior citizens and students. The first 200 UF students to show their GatorOne card are admitted free.
This is the third consecutive year that Florida has faced a Pacific-10 Conference team in NCAA Championship action. Florida was eliminated in NCAA Round of 16 play held in Los Angeles by UCLA (3-2 in 2006) and eventual NCAA champion Southern California (1-0 in 2007). This is the first meeting between Florida and California.
Florida makes its 12th NCAA Championships appearance in the program's 14-year history. The Gators are a No. 2 region seed and is seeded for the 10th time in the program's history. This is the highest seed for UF since the NCAA started regional seeding in 2005. California is making its fifth consecutive and 16th overall NCAA appearance.
Both teams received one of the NCAA Championships' 34 at-large berths. The Gators lost 3-0 to Georgia in the SEC Tournament semifinal and did not receive the league's automatic NCAA berth (Tennessee claimed the berth with a 1-0 win over Georgia in the SEC Tournament final). Six SEC programs advanced to 2008 NCAA play, matching the league record set in 1998 and equaled in 2007. The Pac-10 also sent six teams to the 2008 NCAA Championships. Two No. 1 seeds are from the Pac-10 - Stanford and UCLA. Another Pac-10 team - defending NCAA champion Southern California - is a No. 4 seed. Cal finished sixth in the 2008 Pac-10 standings with its 3-5-1 league record. The Atlantic Coast Conference led all leagues with eight teams in the tournament.
| NCAA Soccer Championship Information Gainesville, Fla. Site |
| Match Times: Friday, Nov. 14 |
| 4 p.m. - Florida (17-3-1) vs. California (10-8-1) |
| 6:30 p.m. - UCF (13-5-3) vs. Miami (10-8-3) |
| Sunday, Nov. 16 |
| 1 p.m.: Winner of M1 vs. Winner of M2 |
| Tickets: |
| $7.00 adult |
| $3.00 children 12 & under, students and senior citizens |
| First 200 UF students with identification are admitted free |
| For more information, contact the UAA Ticket Office at (352) 375-4683, ext. 6800 or 1-800-34GATOR, ext. 6800 (state of Florida only) |
| Internet: |
| Live stats available on www.NCAASports.com; live audio, stats & streaming video for UF-Cal match available at www.GatorZone.com |
More than half of the opponents Florida faced in 2008 advanced to this year's NCAA bracket. Florida is 8-3-1 against teams in the 2008 tournament field with a win versus No. 2 seed Florida State (Sept. 7). The Gators opened the 2008 season with a 1-1 2OT tie at No. 4 seed Colorado. Florida also registered wins versus Auburn, Illinois, Kansas, LSU, South Carolina and Tennessee. The Gators split in their two meetings with Georgia and lost to UCF and at No. 1 regional seed Portland. Cal met eight teams this season that advanced to the 2008 NCAA Championships and owns a record of 2-6 versus those teams. UC posted wins versus Missouri and BYU. Four of UC's losses versus 2008 NCAA Championship teams came versus seeded teams - No. 1 UCLA, No. 4 Southern California, No. 1 Stanford, Texas, No. 3 Texas A&M and Washington.
A pair of seniors leads the Gators this season. Megan Kerns owns UF's season high totals for points (30) and goals (11) while Ameera Abdullah leads UF in assists (9) and is second in points (23). The Bears leading scorer at Friday's match is sophomore Lisa Kevorkian, who owns 13 points off of six goals and one assist.
The Florida-Cal match can be heard live on www.GatorZone.com with Adam Shick and Matthew Stubbington covering the action. A complimentary viewing of the streaming video of the match is also available on GatorVision - just click on the GatorVision icon at www.GatorZone.com for further information.
