Florida's four season journey from start to 1998 NCAA champions is focus of SEC Storied: Kick Start that debuts tonight on the SEC Network.
Gator Soccer's Journey to 1998 NCAA Title Featured Tonight in SEC Storied: Kick Start
Tuesday, October 29, 2024 | Soccer
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By: Kendall Merriett
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida soccer's four-year path from program start to NCAA champion is featured in SEC Storied: Kick Start that makes its SEC Network debut tonight at 8 p.m.
Several of Gator soccer's pioneers viewed the SEC Storied premiere featuring them prior to the Oct. 19 Homecoming football game. Many were in town that weekend for the Gator alumni reunion which was centered around former head coach Becky Burleigh's induction into the Florida Athletic Hall of Fame.
Seeing the team's story unfold on the screen was moving for those taking in the debut.
"It was definitely more emotional than I expected it to be, and probably because we're sitting here watching it with the people who are in it. It was just really cool to see it all come together," said Burleigh. "Obviously, we lived it, but just being able to relive it was amazing."
The SEC Storied's producer Erin Leyden made the trip to Gainesville to share the premiere with those who offered their memories and photos for the Gator soccer story she was familiar with through Leyden's work on SEC Storied: Abby Head On which debuted in 2013.
"We had done a piece on Abby [Wambach] winning a title when she was a freshman. ESPN come back to me and they said, 'we're trying to think of more stories about women's sports teams, so how about that Florida team?' That was a great story – going from no program to winning the title four years later," Leyden said. "I was all in. I reached out to Becky (Burleigh) because she seems to be the key piece. Once we had that conversation, I knew there was a story there."
Becky Burleigh (left) with SEC Storied: Kick Start producer Erin Leyden. Photo by Dennis Black
While it seems fitting that an underdog story would be the perfect material for a documentary, the people who lived the experience were surprised by Leyden reaching out to them. However, after giving the interviews and finding the old pictures, they started to see how unique that event was.
"It's so special because of just the way it happened. We all really did take a pretty big risk coming here, being here for the first year of the program. Just seeing how far we came, it's actually really wonderful," said Erin Baxter, midfielder and co-captain of the 1998 title team. "When you look back and watch this, it all comes streaming back a little bit. I just think it's really cool that Becky's getting all this recognition too. It was such a huge impact on all of us."
Burleigh led the Gator soccer program for 26 seasons, beginning from the program's debut in 1995. Giving all she had to the program inspired her players, who all took a chance coming to a new, untested program to show how they deserved to be a top team.
"I was really happy that the producer was able to capture the spirit of the team and the players who had started the program and the sacrifices they made," said Meredith Flaherty, the 1998 College Cup Defensive MVP. "The intensity and competitiveness in striving together to be able to create history in the face of not having a lot of experience or strong reputation, changed the way that the game was played. I was really happy that got captured." Florida celebrates its 1-0 win over North Carolina in the 1998 NCAA College Cup championship match. Photo by Jason Howey
The road to this Cinderella story was not an easy one, and any good director includes the trials and tribulations along with the success and celebrations. Those included some decisive shutout losses to perennial power North Carolina in 1996 and 1997 NCAA play.
"I love the fact that they included the devastation of the losses in those early seasons because they were bad," said Burleigh. "I think it took that for us to get there. So, I do think that was a truly an important part of the whole story."
Gator soccer alumni were joined by friends and family at the Oct. 19 debut of SEC Storied: Kick Start at the Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Photo by Dennis Black
The shared experience of watching the SEC Storied piece together showed Gator soccer's unity. Showing up to not only see each other, but also to watch this documentary about their lives together, displaying how this team became a family through the ups and downs of their careers as Gators.
"Being able to watch the video with all of those guys is just, I mean, it's hard to come up with words," said Flaherty. "Tracking it all the way back to Becky Burleigh and what she created, it's still present here in the stadium as we're watching this movie decades later and it's still present with the players that she had in her locker room to when she retired. She's just spectacular."
