GAINESVILLE, Fla. –Season-opening home weekend action continues for Florida soccer when it plays host to Florida Atlantic on Sunday, Aug. 21. Match time is set for 1 p.m. at the James G. Pressly Stadium. Admission is free for all Gator regular-season home action.
This is the fifth meeting with the Owls and Florida owns a 3-0-1 series advantage.
Match Promotions
It is Dads & Daughters Day at Gator soccer Sunday. Dads & daughters invited to form pre-match tunnel to welcome Gators on field. After the match, come down on the field to pass the ball on the pitch where the Gators play.
The first 500 fans Sunday receive season key tags.
Youth are invited to come to field post-match to hear from the Gators as part of Florida's Watch the Player, Meet the Person season-long initiative.
Here's how to follow the Gators
Sunday's match can be seen on
SEC Network + (must be a SEC Network subscriber to view). This season, 13 Gator soccer matches will be available on WatchESPN.
Adam Schick and Matthew Stubbington's call of Sunday's match can be heard at ESPN Gainesville 850AM/95.3FM or on
FloridaGators.com.
In Friday's Season Opener:
Florida opened the 2016 season Friday with a 5-2 home win over Iowa State. Five different Gators scored Friday. Sophomores
Mayra Pelayo and
Melanie Monteagudo provided the first half scores. In the second half, the Gators pushed the lead to 4-0 when
Sarah Troccoli and
Meggie Dougherty Howard scored within a two-minute span early in the second half. Then the Cyclones narrowed the lead to two, scoring twice within a 10-minute span.
Senior
Savannah Jordan scored the final goal of the match in the 68
th minute. It was the 66
th goal of her career, moving her into a tie for third with Gator Great
Danielle Fotopoulos on Florida's career goal chart. She also moved into a tie for fifth with Gator Great
Sarah Yohe on the career points chart at 153.
About FAU:
This is the first meeting between Florida and FAU since the 2010 season. The Owls return seven starters and 12 letterwinners from a year ago, to go along with 16 newcomers to the 2016 roster. FAU was 12-8-1 in 2015 and took third in Conference USA with its 6-3-1 record. Two Owls appear on the 2015 Preseason C-USA Team – defender Erica Burt and goalkeeper Sydney Drinkwater.
FAU opened the 2016 season Friday with a 2-1 home win over Southern Utah. Both FAU goals came in the opening half (Elisha Holmes, Sammy Rowland).
This is not the first time FAU Coach Patrick Baker has brought a team to Pressly Stadium, as he previously coached Florida State (1999-04) and Georgia (2005-09). He shared the 2015 Conference USA Coach of the Year award.
Preseason Conference Votes:
Florida swept the 2015 SEC regular-season titles. Florida Atlantic was third in the 2015 Conference USA standings.
Florida – The Gators are picked to win the 2016 Southeastern Conference title.
FAU – The Owls are picked to finish third in the C-USA. North Texas is the C-USA preseason pick to win the league.
Rankings:
Florida is ranked No. 7 on the
preseason National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll.
