The Florida soccer team is finishing up its regular season schedule on Thursday with a match up against the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Gators are currently 13-4 on the season and are second in the SEC at 8-2. Texas A&M has the SEC lead with 25 points, but Florida is just one point behind coming into this week. With a win, the Gators will earn three points and take the lead from the Aggies.
When asked about being only one point behind the Aggies, Gator coach Becky Burleigh says all her team can do is go out and play.
“We can only control our part of the equation, which is we need to come out with three points,” she said.
Last week featured two wins for the Gators, first on Senior Night against Tennessee and then in the final road game against LSU. Sophomore Savannah Jordan scored three goals in those games making her the team and SEC leader for goals, with 14. Senior Havana Solaun scored the 26th goal of her career, tying her with Gator Athletic Hall of Fame member Erin Baxter on Florida’s all time goal chart.
“At halftime [of Tennessee] I thought it was one of the most complete halves we had played all season, and then we followed that up with a terrific second half,” Burleigh said. “We were able to get back on shut-out page [at LSU] which was nice, and to score those three goals and to have a total team effort was a big help to us going into this last regular season game.”
Vanderbilt is also coming off two SEC games last weekend, tying with South Carolina and losing to Ole Miss. The Commodores are led by sophomore Simone Charley with eight goals and 19 points. Freshman Goalkeeper Christiana Ogunsami will be a challenge for the Gators as well, with 106 saves on the season.
Burleigh says this last home game will be an emotional experience for the team.
“We’re looking forward to being at home against Vandy, technically our last regular season home game, we don’t know if we’ll be playing here again, so we’re going to savor the moment.”
The match up between the Gators and Commodores is set to start at 7 p.m. at James G Pressly Stadium. Since it is Halloween Eve, fans are encouraged to wear their costumes to the game.
Click below to listen to Becky Burleigh’s comments: