Gators to embark on trip down Tobacco Road
Thursday, September 16, 2010 | Soccer, Scott Carter
When a road trip includes a match against two-time defending national champion North Carolina, it might be easy to overlook the first game of the trip.
UF women's soccer coach Becky Burleigh is intent on making sure that's not the case with the No. 5-ranked Gators (6-0) this weekend during their appearance in the Duke Nike Classic.
The Gators face host Duke in the first round on Friday before taking on Anson Dorrance's Tar Heels on Sunday afternoon. Duke is ranked No. 15. The Florida-Duke match is the game of the week on the Fox Soccer Channel and is scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m.
“When we talk about this weekend, it's important to make sure we talk about both Duke and North Carolina,'' Burleigh said. “I think our players are very focused on that. The challenge for us is to make sure we first prove ourselves against Duke. Duke is a good team and they are playing at home and they are playing well right now.''
Florida is coming off a 2-1 win at Florida State in which McKenzie Barney scored the winning goal 15 seconds into overtime.
The atmosphere at Friday's match against Duke is expected to be festive. Sandwiched between the North Carolina-Middle Tennessee State women's match and the UF-Duke match is a men's game between Duke and North Carolina.
“This coming weekend is a huge weekend for us,'' Burleigh said. “It's going to be quite an undertaking. It's not going to be easy, we know that.''
