Florida Soccer at No. 10 Arkansas
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida continues road action versus teams getting mention in the United Soccer Coaches poll. Sunday, the Gators were at Georgia – a team receiving votes in the poll. Now the Gators are at No. 10 Arkansas Thursday. One more ranked opponent awaits Florida later this month as the Gators close regular-season action playing host to No. 15 South Carolina.
No. 10 Arkansas (9-3-1, 5-1 SEC)
Date: Thursday, Oct. 12
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Site: Razorback Field<https://arkansasrazorbacks.com/facility/razorback-field/>
TV: SEC Network with Mike Watts and Marion Crowder calling the action
Stream: SEC Network <https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/c97b362e-8d27-4726-8231-0fcff13b61ed>
Live Results: StatBroadcast<http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=475439>
Admission: $10 Adult, $5 Youth<https://arkansasrazorbacks.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventInfo?ticketCode=GS%3AIBM%3ASOC23%3A07%3A&linkID=arkansas&shopperContext=&pc=&caller=&appCode=&groupCode=&cgc=&dataAccId=236&locale=en_US&siteId=ev_arkansas>
Last Time Out:
Gators:
Florida and Georgia played to a scoreless tie Sunday, Oct. 8 on a sunny afternoon in Athens, Ga. At 39 all-time meetings, Georgia is Florida’s most frequent opponent. This result was just the second scoreless tie and first since the debut meeting on Oct. 15, 1995 in Gainesville, Fla. It was Florida’s seventh shutout of the season, the most since also posting seven shutouts in 2018.
Razorbacks:
Arkansas lost its first SEC match in a 2-1 decision at Auburn. It was AU’s first win in the last 10 meetings versus Arkansas. The Tigers took an early lead off Anna Haddock’s goal in the third minute. A seven-minute second half span contained the final goals of the match. Arkansas’ Ava Tankersley tied the match with her goal at 53:14. Sydnie Thibodaux hit the game-winning goal off a right-footed strike in the 60th minute.
About Arkansas:
In 2022, Arkansas was 13-4-5 overall and third in the Southeastern Conference with a 6-2-2 record. The Razorbacks lost 1-0 at Florida State in NCAA Quarterfinal action. The Razorbacks return eight starters, including four-time All-American Anna Podojil who is the program’s career leader for goals and points.
At No. 10, Arkansas leads the three SEC teams on the current United Soccer Coaches poll. The Razorbacks have played three ranked teams on the road – then No. 12 Notre Dame (2-2 tie), then No. 4 North Carolina (3-1 loss) and then No. 9 Clemson (1-0 loss). The Razorbacks are coming off their first SEC loss of 2023 (2-1 at Auburn) and top the SEC standings with 15 points. Arkansas’ schedule in No. 12 in the NCAA’s 2023 Toughest Schedule Report. A league-high 15 Razorbacks have scored goals this season. Morgan White’s six goals and Podojil’s five assists lead the Razorbacks this season. Sierra Cota-Yarde has 12 starts in goal this season and owns a goals-against-average of 1.41.
Last UF-ARK Meeting:
An early goal was the difference as then No. 9 Arkansas edged Florida 1- 0 at Dizney Stadium on Oct. 6, 2022. It was Florida’s eighth of a 10 match span decided by a single goal. Razorback Sophia Aragon’s shot hit hard off the near post in the sixth minute. That deflection landed just above the six-yard box where Jessica De Filippo stepped up to score with a right-footed shot.
Florida’s Alexa Goldberg was replaced in goal by senior Francesca Faraci with seven minutes remaining in the opening half. Goldberg and Arkansas’ Anna Podojil collided, resulting in Goldberg’s head laceration. Goldberg returned to Florida’s starting lineup for its next match on Oct. 9 at Missouri.
