Florida looks to bounce back against Texas Tech

The No. 8 Florida Gators soccer team (3-1) is kicking off its first home game of the season this Friday against Texas Tech (3-1) at 7 p.m. at the James G. Pressly Stadium.

Last weekend, Florida suffered its first loss of the season against No. 15 UCLA (3-0) at the First Tennessee Lady Vol Classic at the Regal Soccer Stadium.

Head coach Becky Burleigh offered her opinion on the team’s tough defeat.

“The UCLA game was a disappointment in the fact that we lost, but at the same time there were some real positives in the way that we played,” she said. “After the game, BJ Snow, UCLA’s coach, said that that was the best soccer he’s seen played in a long time. We are excited about what we’re able to do against a quality team like UCLA. In terms of their individual talent, I’m not sure that we’ll face another team that has that much individual talent the rest of the year.”

Prior to the Florida’s loss against the Bruins, the Gators experienced posted a 3-2 win against No. 17 Texas A&M. With the score tied 2-2 and only 15 seconds left in regulation, an impressive goal by junior McKenzie Barney led the Gators to victory.

Florida also picked up Ws against Miami and Florida International in the first two games of the season.

Burleigh attributes the Gators’ overall success to the team’s skill and intelligence.

“This is a very, very high-level skilled team and they’re smart,” she said. “We have a very high soccer IQ on our team right now. The ability to possess the ball against quality teams like we did this weekend is phenomenal at this point in the season. We are so far ahead, probably further ahead than we were at the end of last season.”

As the Gators prepare to take on the Red Raiders, they have been working on how to dictate play and keep possession of the ball.

“I think the turn over issue for us is that we are asking our players to keep possession of the ball and dictate the play. We’re not waiting for other teams to make a mistake,” Burleigh said. “I think its just a mind set for our team to realize where to take risks and where not to. Also, we have to be able to find a good match of being really hard on defense and then change gears and play good soccer when we have the ball. That’s a hard ting to do, but ultimately that’s our goal.”

After four games on the road, the team is looking forward to finally playing at home.

“To start four games on the road was not easy,” Burleigh said. “We wanted to start away the first weekend just to challenge this team because we knew we had some good leadership and maturity. Then the second weekend it was just too good to pass by. I can’t remember the last time I was this excited to be at home. We’re really looking forward to it.”

Adding to the excitement of the first home game is the presence of former Florida All-Americans and U.S. Women’s National Team players Abby Wambach and Heather Mitts, who were on the side the Americans brought to Germany to compete in the 2011 World Cup. They will be signing autographs after the game.

According to Burleigh, the Florida soccer team really looks up to Wambach and Mitts and is excited to have them present at the game tomorrow.

“Heather spoke to us in the spring when we played the Atlanta Beat, which is her pro team, but Abby has been a little bit harder to pin down just because of her busy schedule, obviously,” explained Coach Burleigh. “The team is really excited about having Abby come speak to us, and they took what Heather said really seriously in the spring, too. I think any time that we have any alumni come back and talk to us, and especially ones with their level of experience, it’s a positive for our team.”

Early on in the season, Burleigh already has a great deal of confidence in her team. The new players are already picking up on the team’s more possession-oriented playing system. As the Gators get ready to take on the Red Raiders of Texas Tech, the coach offers her praise to the team.

“We’ve got a very good mix of players—some great older players that have a lot of experience and leadership, some good young players that are making contributions right away—and that mix is going to be a little bit of a work in progress for us because of the fact that that the younger players are learning 2 systems of play,” Burleigh said. “But they’re doing really well. A lot of them are making contributions immediately. We played 22 players last game, and I don’t think we’ve ever done that, that I recall. That is just a testament to how deep this team is, and I think that’s going to pay dividends in the long run.”