Florida Soccer Meets Two SEC Bulldogs – Mississippi State and Georgia
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida soccer’s October action starts with a pair of Bulldog opponents that both advanced to the 2022 NCAA Second Round.
Florida kicks off UF’s Homecoming Weekend playing host to SEC Western Division foe Mississippi State on Thursday, Oct. 5. Then the Gators travel to Athens, Ga., to face Georgia on Sunday. That match airs on ESPNU at 2 p.m.
Mississippi State (6-3-3, 1-2-1 SEC)
Date: Thursday, Oct. 5
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Site: Donald R. Dizney Stadium<https://admin.floridagators.com/sportfile.aspx?filename=donald-r-dizney-stadium&file_date=4/4/2020>
Stream: SEC Network +<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/a4d03108-4fa7-41f2-ba07-e8f133f1b829> with Kyle Crooks and Matthew Stubbington calling the action
Audio: GatorVision<https://shorturl.at/sHZ38> with Nevada Cullen and Marty Pallman calling the action
Stats: StatBroadcast<http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=469996>
Admission: Free
Promotions: Show your Gator pride this Homecoming Weekend by getting a Florida t-shirt; Get in the shot with Albert and Alberta in the photo booth on Dizney Stadium concourse.
Georgia (6-2-3, 2-1-1 SEC)
Date: Sunday, Oct. 8
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Site: Turner Soccer Complex<https://georgiadogs.com/sports/2017/6/16/turner-soccer-complex>
Television: ESPNU with Alex Perlman and Anna Witte calling the action
Stream: ESPNU<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/2c035c56-27a5-4e58-839c-4e6bb725f782>
Stats: StatBroadcast<http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=469153&vislive=fla>
Admission: Free
Florida’s Last Match:
Florida earned its first SEC win of the season with a 4-0 shutout at Louisiana State last Friday<https://floridagators.com/news/2023/9/29/florida-blanks-lsu-soccer-4-0-megan-hinnenkamp-scores-twice.aspx>. The Gators got a pair of goals in each half, starting with Julianna Leskauska’s open goal opportunity in the 16th minute. Just under six minutes later, Madison Young sent a long free kick that Megan Hinnenkamp flicked in off a header.
Second half scoring started in the 68th minute when Anna DeLeon headed in the deep cross from Madeline Pirrello. Hinnenkamp posted her second double goal match of the season with her long strike in the 74th minute. Friday’s result was Florida’s first league win since a 4-0 home win over LSU on Oct. 24, 2021.
Two Gators picked up SEC honors after the LSU win – Daviana Vaka is the SEC Defensive Player of the Week and Hinnenkamp is the league’s first to claim multiple 2023 SEC Freshman of the Week accolades.<https://floridagators.com/news/2023/10/2/soccer-sec-weekly-honors-for-gators-daviana-vaka-and-megan-hinnenkamp.aspx>
About Upcoming Opponents:
Mississippi State
In 2022, Mississippi State was 12-6-4 overall and eighth in the Southeastern Conference with a 4-4-2 record. The Bulldogs return 22 from the 2022 squad that reached the NCAA Second Round.
UF and MSU have two common opponents this season. Florida tied 0-0 at Miami and MSU took a 2-1 home win over the Hurricanes. MSU defeated LSU 2-1 in road action and Florida won 4-0 last Friday in Baton Rouge. Eight different Dawgs have scored goals this season, including junior internationals Aitana Martinez-Montoya and Ilana Izquierdo who share the team lead with three goals each with junior Hannah Johnson. An honorable mention selection to TopDrawerSoccer National Team of the Week<https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soccer-articles/womens-team-of-the-week:-october-3_aid52567>, Johnson scored twice in MSU’s home 3-3 tie with Tennessee to close September action. Maddy Anderson has played all but 18 minutes in goal this season and owns a goals-against-average of 0.847, which ranks No. 75 in the nation this season.
Last UF-MSU Meeting:
The Gators won 2-1 at Mississippi State when the teams last met on Sept. 26, 2021. The opening goal in the 30th minute came off UF’s Kit Loferski’s 15-yard strike to the far post. A set piece led to the Gators’ second goal in the 35th minute. Georgia Eaton-Collins headed in Delaney Tauzel’s corner kick for her first goal of 2021. The Bulldogs cut the lead to one in the 38th minute with Hailey Farrington-Bentil’s 15-yard strike to the far post.
Georgia
In 2022, Georgia was 13-6-3 overall and tied for fifth in the Southeastern Conference with a 5-3-2 record, advancing to the NCAA Second Round. The Bulldogs brought in five transfers, including graduate All-American Croix Bethune, who TopDrawerSoccer named as the nation’s top collegiate player entering the 2023 season. She scored a goal in her first UGA appearance versus LSU on Sept. 21.
Georgia’s 2023 schedule ranks No. 10 in NCAA Toughest Schedule report<https://stats.ncaa.org/rankings?sport_code=WSO&division=1>, opening at defending NCAA champion UCLA (2-0 loss). UGA also played ranked No. 22 UCF (2-1 home win), No. 9 Clemson (1-1 home tie) and No. 7 Alabama (1-1 road tie). Eleven different Bulldogs have scored goals this season, including former Gator Nicole Vernis who leads the team with four goals. Jordan Brown has played all but 72 minutes in goal this season and owns a goals-against-average of 0.98.
Last UF-UGA Meeting:
Georgia won 3-0 when the teams met at the end of September in 2022 at the Donald R. Dizney Stadium. After a scoreless opening half, three Bulldogs scored in a 10-minute span – Joyelle Washington (58:40), Taylor Rish (62:19) and Rebecca Womer (67:30). The result was Georgia’s first win in 16 trips to Gainesville.
