Florida Soccer Meets Texas A&M Sunday in NCAA Round of 16 Action at Pressly Stadium
Saturday, November 22, 2008 | Soccer
No. 2 regional seed Florida (19-3-1, 11-0 SEC) plays host to No. 3 regional seed Texas A&M (17-4-1, 7-2-1 Big 12) in NCAA Championship Third Round action on Sunday, Nov. 23. Match time is set for 1 p.m. at the James G. Pressly Stadium. Tickets for Sunday'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 NCAA Round of 16 appearance for the Gators. It is the first meeting between Florida and A&M in NCAA play and the first match-up between the two teams since 2000. Florida has not registered a win versus A&M at Pressly Stadium and trails in the all-time series 1-3.
Florida and Texas A&M played host to NCAA First & Second Round action last weekend. Florida trailed California after the first four minutes, but a goal in each half by UF seniors Megan Kerns and Ameera Abdullah advanced Florida to the second round with a 2-1 win. The Gators again scored a goal in each half – this time by freshman Lindsay Thompson and Kerns – to post a 2-0 win over UCF in the second round. Texas A&M scored four unanswered goals en route to a 5-2 first round win versus Texas State. The Aggies scored the first three goals in their NCAA Second Round 3-1 win versus Washington last Sunday.
| NCAA Soccer Championship Information Gainesville, Fla. Site |
| Match Time: |
| Sunday, Nov. 23 |
| 1 p.m.: Florida vs. Texas A&M |
| 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-TA&M match available at www.GatorZone.com |
Both teams received one of the NCAA Championships' 34 at-large berths. Florida is the 2008 Southeastern Conference champion, but 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. After the opening weekend of NCAA play, Florida is the only SEC team remaining. Six Big 12 teams also earned 2008 NCAA berths, with four earning regional seeds – No. 3 Texas A&M and Colorado, Missouri and Oklahoma State all earning No. 4 seeds. Texas A&M is the only remaining Big 12 team in the NCAA field. The Aggies finished just a point behind 2008 Big 12 champion Oklahoma State in the final league standings with its 7-2-1 league record. The Atlantic Coast Conference led all leagues with eight teams in the tournament.
More than half of the opponents Florida faced in 2008 advanced to this year's NCAA bracket. Florida owns a pre-NCAA play record of 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. Florida split in its two meetings with Georgia and lost to UCF and at No. 2 seed Portland. Texas A&M met nine teams this season that advanced to the 2008 NCAA Championships and owns a regular-season record of 5-4-1 versus those teams. A&M posted wins versus No. 3 seed Wake Forest (Sept. 7), versus No. 4 seeds Oklahoma State (Oct. 3) and at Colorado (Oct. 26), at Virginia Tech and versus California and lost versus No. 1 seed North Carolina (Aug. 29), No. 4 seed Missouri (Oct. 19), at Kansas (regular season & Big 12 Tournament). Texas & Texas A&M tied on Sept. 26.
A pair of seniors leads the Gators this season. Kerns owns UF's season high totals for points (35) and goals (12) and shares the assists lead (9) with Ameera Abdullah. Abdullah is second in points (25). Texas A&M is led this season by a pair of Aggies with 19 points each - senior midfielder Laura Robinson (7 goals, 5 assists) and sophomore midfielder/forward Rachel Shipley (5g, 9a).
Adam Schick and Matthew Stubbington will cover Sunday's action for WRUF AM 850. 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.
