No. 9 Florida Soccer Team Opens Season Friday at Miami
Thursday, August 18, 2011 | Soccer
The No. 9 University of Florida soccer team opens the 2011-12 Gator athletic season Friday, Aug. 19 when it meets the Miami Hurricanes in Coral Gables. Match time is set for 7 p.m. at Cobb Stadium. Friday's match can be heard live on Gatorzone.com.
| Friday's Match Info: |
| Florida vs. Miami
Preseason No. 9 Florida (0-0-0, 0-0-0 SEC) at Miami (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ACC) Date & Time: Aug. 19, 2011 @ 7 p.m. ET The Coaches: Becky Burleigh, 17th season @ UF (365-95-32/ entering 21st season overall - 283-72-26/UF), Tom Anagnost, 40-12-7/ entering fourth season overall and first at Miami Television: none Radio: none Internet: live stats and audio for UF-Miami match available on www.GatorZone.com Tickets: $5 for adults; $3 for kids. For more information, contact the UM Ticket Office at (305) 284-2263 |
This is the third consecutive season the two teams faced each other in the season opener. Last year, eventual Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year Taylor Travis turned in her first collegiate goal to give Florida a 2-1 2OT win over the Hurricanes.
This is the sixth meeting all-time between the two programs and third meeting between the two teams in Coral Gables. In the last visit to Miami in 2009, Ashlee Elliott headed in the game winner early in the second half for her only goal of her injury-shortened season.
The Gators open the 2011 season ranked No. 9 on the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) preseason poll. It is the 15th consecutive season that Florida appears in the NSCAA preseason poll in the program's 17-year history.
Florida is picked to repeat as the Southeastern Conference champions in the preseason vote by the league coaches. Miami was picked to finish 10th in a preseason vote by the Atlantic Coast Conference coaches. The Gators have won 11 SEC titles, including the last four, since the program started in 1995.
The 31-member Gator roster is fairly even between upper and lower classmen, as 17 are either freshmen or sophomores and 14 are juniors or seniors. Four of Florida's 2010 NSCAA All-South Region and All-SEC selections return in 2011 – midfielders Tahnai Annis, Taylor Travis and Erika Tymrak plus defender Kathryn Williamson. Both Annis and Williamson were named 2010 NSCAA All-Americans and Williamson picked up the SEC Defensive Player of the Year honor. The top five Gator goal scorers and point leaders from the 2010 campaign are back this season – Annis (13 goals, 7 assists, 33 points), McKenzie Barney (14g, 4a, 32pts), Tymrak (6g, 13a, 25pts), Lindsay Thompson (8g, 4a, 20pts), and Travis (3g, 11a, 17pts).
The 13-member incoming class is a gifted group, bringing extensive playing experience from state, regional, national and international age-group levels. Four of the newest Gators appeared on TopDrawerSoccer.com's Top 100 recruits – Tessa Andujar (San Clemente, Calif.), Annie Bobbitt (Jacksonville, Fla.), Annie Speese (Augusta, Ga.) and Jillian Graff (Medina, Ohio). Gainesville's Havana Solaun represented the U.S. at the CONCACAF U-17 Women's Championship in Costa Rica in March of 2010. Goalkeeper Taylor Burke (Medina, Ohio) is a high school All-American in both soccer and track & field, as she set the nation's top 2011 prep high jump mark of 6-1 ? this spring.
Friday's match can be heard live with Adam Schick calling the action on www.GatorZone.com.
