GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gator soccer team travels to Columbia, S.C., to face Southeastern Conference leader South Carolina on Sunday, Oct. 16. The match airs live at 3 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.
Last meeting:
Last year when the two teams met in Gainesville, Florida took a key 2-1 double overtime win. The Gamecocks scored first in the sixth minute off a goal from Savannah McCaskill. Another Savannah, this time Florida's
Savannah Jordan, tied the match in the 21
st minute after she ran down the long ball from
Christen Westphal and put in left-footed, sharp-angled shot. That finished the scoring for nearly the next hour. With time evaporating in the second overtime,
Liz Slattery picked up the ball that popped free in USC box. She moved right with a couple of touches before sending a chip that scored at the far post upper slot. That goal at 109:59 is the latest ever for Florida in the two 10-minute golden goal format.
The Gators in Last Week's Action: Thursday's Action:
Florida scored three goals in each of its last three matches, including in both of its wins last weekend. In Thursday's match, Florida took a 3-1 home win over Georgia off goals from a pair of seniors.
Meggie Dougherty Howard scored the only goal of the opening half in the 43
rd minute when she put in the pass from
Rachelle Smith. Early in the second half, Jordan converted a penalty kick and then scored off an assist from
Brooke Sharp in the 67
th minute. The Bulldogs prevented the shutout with a goal from Mariel Gutierrez in the 73
rd minute.
Sunday at Mississippi, Florida seniors again provided the scoring in the 3-0 win. Jordan's goal off the cross from sophomore
Samantha Chung at 6:25 is the second earliest goal for Florida this season.
Pamela Begic headed in the deep ball from sophomore
Melanie Monteagudo at 39:22 for her second goal of the season. The only goal of the second half started when Dougherty Howard's pass split a pair of Rebel defenders and found Jordan in stride in the box. Her right-footed shot in the 59th minute gave Jordan her second double-goal match of the weekend, fourth of the season and the 21st multi-goal match of her collegiate career. Jordan leads the SEC with 12 goals and 31 points.
Here's how to follow the Gators
Sunday's match airs live on the SEC Network (Gainesville/Ocala Cox cable 68 or 1068) or watch the stream on
WatchESPN. Jonathan Yardley & Jill Loyden will handle the announcing duties.
Fans can listen to Matthew Stubbington's call of the action at
FloridaGators.com.
About the South Carolina Gamecocks:
At 13-0-1, South Carolina is one of two unbeaten teams in 2016 NCAA Division I action (Bucknell is the other). After a 3-1 win over then No. 11 Arkansas last Sunday, South Carolina rose to the No. 2 spot on the latest NSCAA poll – its highest ever on the weekly rankings.
South Carolina junior Savannah McCaskill is second in the SEC and with 11 goals and 29 points – both totals rank in the nation's top six. Freshman Mikayla Krzeczowski has played almost 80 percent of USC's minutes in goal this season and owns a 0.45 goals against average, which ranks 13
th in the nation. She is the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Week. Eight of USC's 13 wins this season have been shutouts.
Shelley Smith is in her 16
th season as head coach of the South Carolina program.
2016 Records:
Florida: 10-3, 5-2 SEC
USC: 13-0-1, 7-0 SEC
Preseason Conference Votes:
Florida swept the 2015 SEC titles (regular-season and tournament). South Carolina was fifth in 2015 SEC standings.
Current standings: Florida is fourth with a 5-2 record and South Carolina leads with a 7-0 record.
Rankings:
Florida is ranked No. 17 on the latest
National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll and South Carolina is No. 2
