Florida Soccer Faces Illinois State Friday in NCAA First Round Action
Friday, November 13, 2009 | Soccer
The University of Florida soccer team (15-5-2, 8-1-2 SEC) meets Illinois State (12-6-1, 5-1 MVC) in NCAA Championship First Round action on Friday, Nov. 13. Match time is set for 5 p.m. (ET) at The Ohio State's Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The other first round pairing at the site includes Ohio State versus Oregon State, with a start time of 7:30 p.m. The winners of Friday's matches will meet Sunday at 1 p.m. in NCAA Second Round action.
The winner of Sunday's match advances to the NCAA Round of 16, which will take place Nov. 20, 21 or 22. NCAA Quarterfinal action is the following weekend (Nov. 27, 28 or 29). The NCAA College Cup is set for Dec. 4 and 6 at the Aggie Soccer Stadium in College Station, Texas. The complete bracket can be found here.
Friday's meeting will be the first between Florida and Illinois State. The Gators are a No. 3 regional seed for the 2009 tournament.
Both teams are 2009 conference champions. Florida claimed its fourth consecutive and 10th overall Southeastern Conference title, but was eliminated in the SEC Tournament semifinal round with a 1-0 loss to South Carolina. The Gamecocks went on to claim the SEC Tournament title and the league's automatic NCAA berth by defeating LSU in penalty kicks. Florida advanced to its 13th NCAA Championship by claiming one of the tournament's 34 at-large berths. Florida placed three on the 2009 All-SEC team – senior Lauren Hyde (SEC Defensive Player of the Year, SEC first team, junior Katie Fraine (SEC first team) and sophomore Lindsay Thompson (SEC second team).
Illinois State won its third consecutive Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title and claimed the league's automatic berth with a 1-0 victory over Creighton in the MVC Tournament in Omaha, Neb. Eight of the Redbirds' wins have come by shutouts, including five of the last six. Sophomore Jessica Carlson leads ISU in goals (11) and points (27). She was joined on the MVC first team by senior teammates Danielle Mutters (MVC defensive player of the year) and Raquel Rattray. The Illinois State coaching staff, led by Drew Roff, was named the league's coaching staff of the year.
Florida is 5-4 against teams in the 2009 tournament field. The Gators registered wins versus Auburn, Duke, Georgia and LSU. Florida split in its two meetings with South Carolina and lost at Mississippi and to No. 2 seeds Florida State and UCLA. Six SEC programs advanced to 2009 NCAA play, matching the league record set in 1998 and equaled in 2007 and 2008. The Atlantic Coast and Pacific 10 Conferences led all leagues with eight teams each placed in the tournament.
| 2009 NCAA Soccer Championship Columbus, Ohio First & Second Round Site Information | |||||
| Times | |||||
| Friday, Nov. 13 | |||||
| Match 1 | Florida versus Illinois State | 5 p.m. | |||
| Match 2 | Ohio State versus Oregon State | 7:30 p.m. | |||
| Sunday, Nov. 15 | Match 3 | Winner of Match 1 versus Winner of Match 2 | 1 p.m. | ||
| Tickets | $5.00 for adults | ||||
| $3.00 for students & children | |||||
| The purchase of one ticket Friday will allow fans to see both games. Tickets can be purchased at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium – cash only – on the day of game and they can also be purchased online through OhioStateBuckeyes.com starting Thursday. | |||||
| Streaming Video & Live Stats | The Ohio State Department of Athletics plans to provide a free video streaming of all the NCAA tournament matches from Columbus. A link to the games will be available on www.OhioStateBuckeyes.com and www.GatorZone.com. Game “live” stats can also be viewed from the web site. | ||||
|
| |||||
| Radio | Friday's match can be heard live on AM 850 WRUF or via simulcast on Gainesville/Ocala Cox Cable channel 946 and www.GatorZone.com. Adam Schick will cover the action Friday. | ||||
| Tournament Website | Visit www.OhioStateBuckeyes.com and click on the 2009 NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament logo for additional information about the teams, including rosters, statistics, game notes, probable starters and much more.
Complete NCAA Championship results and information can be found at www.NCAASports.com | ||||
|
| |||||
