No. 6 Florida Soccer Opens SEC Tournament Action Wednesday versus Vanderbilt
Tuesday, November 3, 2015 | Soccer
GAINESVILLE, Florida – Florida opens 2015 Southeastern Conference Soccer Tournament action Wednesday, facing Vanderbilt in the quarterfinal round. The Gators enter the tournament as the top seed after claiming the program's 14th SEC title with an 8-2-1 league record.
| Wednesday's Match Info: | |
| No. 6 Florida (14-3-1, 8-2-1 SEC) versus Vanderbilt (9-7-4, 4-4-3 SEC)
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| @UFGatorSoccer (Becky Burleigh) |
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The SEC Tournament expanded a day in 2012 after the addition of Missouri and Texas A&M. The No. 8 seed Commodores won 2-1 over No. 9 seed Georgia in Monday's play-in match to advance to the tournament's eight-team bracket.
Here's how to follow the Gators
Can't be in Orange Beach for Wednesday's match? Here's how to follow the action:
· Watch the match live on SEC Network beginning at 6 p.m. ET. Gator Great and past U.S. National Team member Heather Mitts and Glenn Davis will call the action
· Follow the stream of the Florida-VU match on WatchESPN
· Hear Adam Schick and Matthew Stubbington's call of Wednesday's match on ESPN 95.3FM/850AM or at GatorZone.com.
Regular-Season Meeting Between Florida and VU:
When the two teams met in Nashville on Sept. 25, Florida experienced every possible scenario - playing ahead, tied, behind, tied and finally ahead for good. Freshman Sarah Troccoli scored the match's first goal in the 13th minute – her fourth goal of 2015. The Commodores scored twice in just over a two-minute portion of the opening half to tie and then take a 2-1 lead. Sharp sent Florida into the half tied with VU after her goal in the 32nd minute. Junior Betsy Middleton provided the only goal of the second half, hitting a 22-yard one-timer in the 56th minute to give Florida the go-ahead goal.
Florida leads the all-time series with Vanderbilt 24-2-1. Three of the last 10 matches between these two teams were decided by a single goal, including the 2015 meeting in Nashville (3-2 UF win).
Gators in Final Match of SEC Regular-Season Action:
Florida clinched its 14th SEC title with a 3-0 win at Georgia Thursday. Florida scored twice in the opening half, with both goals coming off the foot of Savannah Jordan. The first was set up by several passes to bring the ball into the UGA final defensive third. Meggie Dougherty Howard found Brooke Sharp just above the box. Sharp received the ball and immediately played a ball through the box. Jordan ran it down to place it in from 10 yards in the 21st minute. Jordan also scored with 21 seconds remaining in the opening half when she won the ball after the UGA goalkeeper was out of her box. She took the ball toward goal to score on the open net. The final goal came when Jordan was pushed down in the box and the Gators were awarded a penalty kick. Pamela Begic successfully converted the shot. Against Georgia, Florida turned in its second consecutive shutout and fourth of the season.
The pair of goals in the regular-season finale pushed Jordan's career total to 60 – which ties for fourth on Florida's and SEC career charts. Jordan reached the 60 goal milestone in her 65th collegiate match to equal the second-quickest Gator to 60 goals. The other? Florida's career leader Abby Wambach. The all-time NCAA goals leader Danielle Fotopoulos is Florida's fastest to 60, as she needed 50 matches to reach that mark. She transferred to Florida after playing her first two seasons at Southern Methodist. As a Gator, Fotopoulos scored 66 goals and amassed 118 in her collegiate career.
Two Gators are among the SEC offensive leaders. Jordan leads in goals (19) and points (43) while Westphal shared the assists lead (10). Sharp also checks in tied for seventh for goals (10) and eighth in points (24). Jordan is in the nation's top three for goals and points. Westphal is among nation's top 10 with her 10 assists.
About the VU Commodores:
Vanderbilt took eighth in 2015 SEC play with its 4-4-3 league record to earn its first SEC Tournament berth in five seasons. VU used a goal from Lydia Simmons in the 85th minute to upset No. 12 Mississippi to finish the regular season. VU has met five top-20 opponents in 2015 SEC regular-season action and owns a 2-2-1 in those matches (No. 5 Texas A&M 1-0 loss; No. 9 Florida 3-2 loss; No. 20 Kentucky 1-1 2OT; No. 8 South Carolina 2-1 OT; No. 12 Mississippi 1-0).
All-SEC second-team selection Simone Charley leads VU with 16 points off of six goals and four assists. Darren Ambrose is in his first season as head of the Commodore program.
SEC Honors Gators:
Five Gators appear on 2015 All-Southeastern Conference teams, including three on the first team. Jordan is the SEC Offensive Player of the Year and Christen Westphal is the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Joining them on the All-SEC first team is center back Claire Falknor. Midfielder Meggie Dougherty Howard earned All-SEC second team honors. Midfielder Mayra Pelayo appears on the SEC All-Freshman team.
Team Records:
Florida: 14-3-1, 8-2-1 SEC – SEC Tournament No. 1 seed
VU: 9-7-4, 4-4-3 SEC – SEC Tournament No. 8 seed
Rankings:
Florida is ranked No. 6 on the October 27 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll.
