Gators Head To Orange Beach With Hopes Of SEC Tournament Crown
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 | Soccer, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – They boarded the team bus early Tuesday afternoon fresh off their biggest win of the season, a 1-0 victory at South Carolina on Friday night that clinched the Gators soccer team its fifth consecutive Southeastern Conference regular-season title.
As they piled onto the bus carrying their boxed lunches, iPods and gym bags, the afterglow of knocking off the Gamecocks and being able to check off a key preseason goal had clearly dimmed. The No. 1-seed Gators had already turned the page as they began their trip to Orange Beach, Ala., for the SEC Tournament.
Florida (15-2-2; 9-1-1 SEC) faces No. 8-seed Vanderbilt (8-9-2; 4-5-2) on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
“Just because we won, doesn't necessarily mean we're going to get to the finals or win our first game [in the tournament],'' said redshirt sophomore Kathryn Williamson, named SEC Defensive Player of the Year. “We've usually struggled in the past few years to get to the championship of the SEC Tournament. That would be something that's really special because we haven't done that in a while.''
Florida ended last season under the same scenario, clinching the SEC regular-season title with a victory over South Carolina in the final match of the season. However, in the SEC Tournament, South Carolina ended UF's bid to win the conference tournament by knocking the Gators out in the semifinals.
Florida coach Becky Burleigh sees a different attitude heading into this year's eight-team event about a six-hour bus ride from Gainesville.
“I think our focus is a little bit more on the SEC Tournament this year than last year,'' Burleigh said Tuesday. “The team is taking a lot of pride in winning it. They realize this is a really good setting to practice starting for next week, which is pretty much the one-and-done scenario.''
Win or lose, Florida is hoping, if not expecting, to be an NCAA Tournament host site opening weekend. Still, the Gators want to be playing their best when it matters most.
While the Gators have been ranked high in the polls all season and took care of South Carolina's threat to snap their streak of conference titles, you sense they stepped onto that bus Tuesday afternoon seeking something more.
“We play really, really well in different patches of games,'' Burleigh said. “I'm not sure that we've put together a full 90 minutes yet. And that's exciting, because I think once we do that, that's going to be a real treat to see.''
Fifth-year senior Ashlee Elliott didn't make the trip to Orange Beach last season. She remained back in Gainesville still recovering from a knee injury and uncertain if she would return to school for her final year of eligibility.
Elliott opted to finish out her playing career and hasn't looked back. She agrees with her coach that the Gators haven't fully reached their potential.
“I honestly don't feel like we have played our best,'' Elliott said. “At this point, I feel like in practice we do so well. We do everything right in practice. Then I felt like at times against South Carolina we were real good, but I don't think there has been a game where we have produced the entire game. I know that we are capable and that it's going to come at the right time. We all have to jell at the same time to make it look perfect.''
In their only meeting with Vanderbilt this season, the Gators won, 2-0. The Commodores played that match without half of its sister duo of Megan and Molly Kinsella. Megan Kinsella leads the team with 14 points (four goals, six assists) and Molly, who was hurt the first time the teams met, is second with 13 points (four goals, five assists).
Burleigh expects a dangerous Vanderbilt team considering the circumstances.
“I kind of feel like they need to win this to get into the NCAA Tournament, and when that happens, teams are willing to throw a different look at you,'' Burleigh said. “I expect them to definitely come out firing.''
Senior defender Nicky Kit, who scored the game's only goal in the win Friday at South Carolina, said whatever momentum the Gators have entering the SEC Tournament comes from their determination to win their first SEC Tournament title since 2007.
“There is more momentum from remembering what happened last year,'' Kit said. “We actually want to go this year and win and not fall short like we did last year. We're not as tired as we were last year. The coaches are making all the right subs and letting all of us get the same amount of rest.''
Forward Taylor Travis was named SEC Freshman of the Year on Tuesday after finishing her first season fourth on the team in scoring with 16 points (three goals, 10 assists) Travis was in high school and playing on her club team in North Carolina a year ago at this time.
She has listened to her coaches and teammates talk about the SEC Tournament and how the competition level rises. She also knows what the Gators can do, boosting her confidence that the Gators can fulfill their mission of claiming the SEC Tournament crown.
“We know that when we play our game, other teams just don't know what to do,'' Travis said. “We're going in there knowing that if we play our game, we're going to be just fine.''
