Florida - Florida State Rivalry Next Test for Gator Soccer
Saturday, August 29, 2015 | Soccer, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- With nearly half her roster made up of freshmen, Florida soccer coach Becky Burleigh entered the 2015 season looking for incremental progress. In a perfect world, she'd see a little more from her rookies with each match, which in turn would mean seeing a little more from her team as a whole.
| Florida-Florida State Soccer All-Time Series History | |||
| UF leads 12-10 | |||
| Date | Site | Result | Score |
| 9/2/95 | H | W | 4‑0 |
| 10/23/96 | A | W | 3-0 |
| 10/15/97 | H | W | 6-0 |
| 10/13/98 | A | W | 2-0 |
| 8/27/99 | H | W | 5-1 |
| 8/25/00 | A | L | 2-3 |
| 11/12/00^ | H | L | 1-2 |
| 9/28/01 | H | W | 2-0 |
| 9/27/02 | A | L | 1-2 |
| 9/5/03 | H | W | 2-0 |
| 11/28/03^ | H | L | 2-1 |
| 9/10/04 | A | W | 2-1 |
| 9/16/05 | H | L | 2-4 |
| 9/8/06 | A | L | 0-1 |
| 9/9/07 | H | W | 2-1 |
| 9/7/08 | A | W | 1-0 |
| 9/18/09 | H | L | 0-1 |
| 9/10/10 | A | W | 2-1 OT |
| 9/9/11 | H | L | 2-3 |
| 8/31/12 | A | L | 1-0 |
| 8/30/13 | H | L | 0-3 |
| 9/5/14 | A | W | 2-1 |
| ^ - NCAA Championships | |||
“This team is going to grow a lot,” Burleigh said earlier in the week. “The key for us is being patient enough and urgent enough, if that makes any sense. We have to be patient when we feel like we're not getting there fast enough, but we still have to have an urgency about us to try and get there fast enough.”
The approach has served UF adequately three matches into the season, with the Gators sandwiching a pair of victories against state rivals UCF and Miami around a loss to Ohio State, with all three matches on the road.
Next, 14th-ranked Florida (2-1) will have its patience and urgency tested to the max when it plays host to rival, No. 1 and defending national champion Florida State (3-0) in the squad's home opener Sunday beginning at 1 p.m. at Pressly Stadium.
Rolled into the afternoon will be the normal bloodsport mentality that comes when the Gators and Seminoles square off -- no matter the event -- but also with the somewhat juicy sidebar that UF, which leads the all-time series 12-10, handed FSU its lone loss of the 2014 season, a 2-1 defeat at Tallahassee that ended the Seminoles' 38-game regulation unbeaten streak.
Last season, a veteran Florida team with nine seniors reached the Elite Eight, only to fall to Stanford on penalty kicks. As it turned out, UF beat two of four teams (Texas A&M and FSU) that reached the Final Four, for whatever that's worth ... which was nothing.
The Gators watched that phase of the NCAA Tournament on television.
“It was kind of bitter sweet,” junior midfielder Pamela Begič, who had a goal and assist in the win at Tally last year, said of seeing the Seminoles hoist the ultimate hardware. “We beat them, but it wasn't like we could say, 'Oh, we're the national champions.' What it did do is show us how good we can be and how our style of play is right for us -- and that we should trust it and play the way we know how to play.”
For the freshmen Gators, the first three matches of 2015 have been about learning to play that very way. Burleigh and her staff have a system they want adhered to, but with so many talented young players, there are going to be mistakes. That's OK. That's normal.
But the Florida coaches have standards relative to effort and competitiveness; standards they will not compromise. So even though players may not be where they're supposed to be or may not find every teammate with the right pass, if they're going hard, aggressively and playing for each other, the coaches will live with results.
Incremental progress.
“I really believe we're going to peak when we need to peak,” junior midfielder Liz Slattery said. “As the progression continues and we move game to game, as long as each player tries to bring the best version of themselves we'll create the best version of the entire team. That'll make us grow and grow. Once that happens, we're going to kill it.”
Another step in the right direction against the best team in the country seems like a lot to ask.
Then again, the baby Gators may just get a kick out of seeing where they stack up against the best.
And their rival, no less.
“I'm excited to play them again,” said junior forward Savannah Jordan, who already has four goals this season, including a second career hat trick in Thursday night's win at Miami. “I think everybody wants to play the highest ranked team and just go after them.”
