Gator Country

Senior forward McKenzie Barney has a share of the Gators' season lead for goals with three. / Gator Country photo by Rodney Rogers

Home Southeastern Conference play continues for the No. 24 Florida soccer team (6-3-1, 3-1 SEC) Friday when Mississippi (9-2, 2-2 SEC) comes to town. Match time is set for 7 p.m. at the James G. Pressly Stadium and admission is free.

Two of the five SEC teams among the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) top 25 or receiving votes on the poll are meeting at Pressly Stadium Friday. The SECs new additions – Texas A&M and Missouri – are ranked No. 6 and No. 11, respectively. Florida holds the No. 24 spot. Also receiving votes on the NSCAA poll are Mississippi and Tennessee.

Florida collected two home wins last weekend. The Gators won their league home opener 2-1 over then No. 23 Tennessee on Friday. The Gator goals came in each half. Junior transfer Adriana Leon hit a 20-yard blast to put the Gators up in the sixth minute – the earliest Gator goal this season. It was her second consecutive Gator goal, as it was Leon who scored the golden goal in Sunday’s 2-1 OT win at Auburn. Senior McKenzie Barney put in the deep cross from sophomore Havana Solaun to score in the 52nd minute.

Four goals in a 25-minute second half span gave the Gators a 4-1 win over Georgia Sunday. Senior Holly King started the scoring flurry after heading in an Annie Speese corner kick in the 55th minute. Solaun scored from 14 yards 10 minutes later and then Jo Dragotta scored her first collegiate goal off a penalty kick in the 69th minute. Sophomore Jillian Graff turned in her second goal of the season in the 79th minute to finish Florida’s scoring.

After the weekend, three share the Gators season goals lead at three each – Barney, King and Solaun. Leon was named to the CollegeSoccer360.com Primetime Performers list following her performance last weekend.

Mississippi opened the season with an 8-0 record. The Rebels split in its opening two weekends of league play, defeating Arkansas 4-1 and then dropping its first match of the season 4-0 to then No. 10 Texas A&M. Last weekend, Mississippi lost 2-1 at then No. 16 Missouri and then claimed a 1-0 win at Alabama. Junior Mandy McCalla leads the Rebels this season with 10 goals.

The first double-goal match for then Solaun gave the Gators a 2-0 win at Mississippi in 2011. The first came when Dragotta’s through ball found Solaun. She beat her defender and scored from 10 yards in the 34th minute. She added her second goal in the 77th minute when she one-touched in the deep cross from then senior Jazmyne Avant.

Live streaming video of Friday’s match is available via GatorVision. The match can also be heard on ESPN 850, by simulcast on Cox Channel 946 (Gainesville/Ocala) or on GatorZone.com with Adam Schick and Matthew Stubbington calling the action.

Courtesy of UF communications

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