GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida soccer (4-3-5, 1-2-1 SEC) faces two long-time Southeastern Conference rivals this weekend. Play versus top-25 teams continues Thursday at No. 23 South Carolina and then UF returns home to play host to RV Georgia Sunday for Florida Senior Day.
South Carolina is Florida’s fifth opponent ranked in United Soccer Coaches top 25<https://unitedsoccercoaches.org/rankings/college-rankings/ncaa-di-women/> this season, which leads the league’s 16 programs.
These two teams are first and second for most meetings in Florida’s 30-season history as Thursday is the 38th UF-USC meeting and Sunday is the 40th UF-UGA match:
* Two Gamecocks – senior All-American Catherine Barry and junior Gracie Falla- appear on the 2024 Hermann Trophy Watch List for collegiate soccer’s highest individual honor.
* 2023 SEC Tournament winner Georgia is UF’s fourth 2023 champion opponent this season (3-0 loss to NCAA & ACC champion Florida State; 2-0 win vs Southern Conference champion Western Carolina; 1-1 tie vs Coastal Athletic champion Towson)
2024 Florida Season Stats<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-soccer/stats>
at No. 23 South Carolina
Date: Thursday, Oct. 10
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Site: Eugene E. Stone III Stadium<https://gamecocksonline.com/facilities/eugene-e-stone-iii-stadium/>
Stream: SEC Network +<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/60bd8f1a-0a13-430f-9b18-cea3020502b9> with Brad Muller and Nancy Goffi calling the action
StatBroadcast<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=533559&vislive=fla>
Tickets: $10/adult; $5/youth<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gamecocks/buy/soccertickets>
RV Georgia (4-3-5, 1-2-1 SEC)
Date: Sunday, Oct. 13
Time: 5 p.m. ET
Site: Donald R. Dizney Stadium<https://floridagators.com/sports/2020/4/4/donald-r-dizney-stadium.aspx> (1,500)
TV: SEC Network<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/fea20caf-011b-41a2-8e80-ca5030931f25> with Marion Crowder and Alex Perlman calling the action
Radio: ESPN Gainesville 98.1 FM/850 AM<https://floridagators.com/watch/?Live=5470&type=Archive> with Kyle Crooks and Matthew Stubbington calling the action
StatBroadcast<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=532026>
Admission: Free
Promotions: First 250 fans in attendance receive a free Gators Soccer t-shirt. Stay post-match to celebrate the careers of 11 Gators for the Senior Day ceremony.
Gator Senior Day is Sunday
Florida celebrates the careers of 11 Gators Sunday in a post-match ceremony. More than 30,000 minutes were played by the 11, including 324 appearances in the starting lineup.
5
Alexa Goldberg
8
Charlotte McClure
9
Josie Curtis
11
Sophie White
15
Lauren Donovan
16
Emilee Hauser
20
Anna DeLeon
21
Madison Young
22
Oakley Rasmussen
23
Daviana Vaka
25
Delaney Tauzel
Florida Opens SEC Home Play with 2-1 Win vs No. 22 Texas
The first two collegiate goals by senior Lauren Donovan gave UF the needed margin in its 2-1 upset over No. 22 Texas in front of Dizney Stadium record crowd of 1,412.
Donovan’s first collegiate goal gave the Gators an early lead. Vera Blom’s corner kick to the near post was headed in by Donovan in the second minute. It was the earliest Gator goal this season.
Donovan made it a brace in the 66th minute. The play started when Lena Bailey sent a centering ball to the middle of the box. The ball bounced around and came off a Texas defender right to Donovan at the far upper corner of the box. She settled the ball before sending a right-footed scoring shot to the far post corner.
The Longhorns cut the lead in half in the 78th minute soon after a short shower started at Dizney Stadium. Jilly Shimkin’s centering ball to Missimo was quickly touched out wide for Amalia Villarreal. She caught up with the ball and took a few touches as she entered the top of the box. Villarreal’s right-footed shot scored at the far corner.
Notables:
* Donovan’s goal at 1:25 is the 11th quickest in Florida’s 30 seasons.
* Donovan is the 21st with multiple goals in match with their first Gator goal.
* Performance earned Donovan SEC co-Offensive Player of the Week<https://floridagators.com/news/2024/10/7/soccer-lauren-donovan-shares-sec-offensive-player-of-the-week-honor.aspx>
* Florida Coach Bohon claims her first top-25 win as the Gator coach.
About No. 23 South Carolina
South Carolina turned in a 12-3-6 record in 2023 and was second in the Southeastern Conference with its 5-0-5 record. The Gamecocks 2023 NCAA Tournament run ended in the second round with a 3-0 loss at eventual NCAA runner-up Stanford.
Senior All-American Catherine Barry leads the Gamecocks in 2024 in goals (8) and points (19). Junior Christina Tsaousis has 10 starts in goal and owns a goals-against-average of 1.06. The Gamecocks’ 2024 schedule currently checks in at No. 5 on the NCAA Toughest Schedules chart.
Shelley Smith is in her 24th season at South Carolina.
About RV Georgia
Georgia turned in a 13-4-6 record in 2023 and tied for fifth in the Southeastern Conference with its 4-3-3 record. UGA claimed the automatic NCAA berth with its 1-0 win over Arkansas in the SEC Tournament final. The Bulldogs 2023 NCAA Tournament run ended in the third round with a 1-1 tie at Clemson, with the Tigers advancing 5-3 on penalty kicks.
Graduate Margie Detrizio leads the Bulldogs in 2024 in goals (7) and points (16). Junior Jordan Brown has played every minute in goal for UGA this season and owns a goals-against-average of 1.00.
Keidane McAlpine came to Georgia for the 2022 season after leading Southern California for eight season, which included leading USC to the 2016 NCAA title.
