The Florida Gators soccer team (14-4, 7-2 SEC) returns home this weekend to take on the LSU Tigers (11-6-1, 6-3 SEC) at James G. Pressly Stadium on Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Gators come home with an advantage over the Tigers, not only playing on their own turf, but also gaining a 2-1 win at Thursday’s away match whereas the Tigers were defeated 4-1 against South Carolina.
Although home games brighten the spirits of the team, there are still techniques that need to be worked on.
“For us to be where we want to be, we need to take care of teams no matter the circumstance, no matter how many people they put behind the ball, no matter the situation,” coach Becky Burleigh said. “We play like that sometimes, but not all the time, and that’s not good enough for us to be where we want to be.”
The Gators have allowed goals quickly in away games against Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Auburn.
However, what is undeniably true about the Florida team is that the Gators are able to come together and finish shots enough to overcome the opposing goals scored.
With the last two games of the regular season at home, the Gators have the opportunity to strengthen themselves as a team and take care of teams by pouring in goals.
As for LSU, who has lost eight out of its 15 away games and tied one, the Tigers give the Gators the ability to effectively play their passing game and work on sending numbers forward on the attack.
What the Gators will have to look out for is LSU midfielder Taryne Boudreau, who is neck and neck with Florida midfielder Erika Tymrak when it comes to scoring and assisting goals. Boudreau has 10 goals scored on the season and Tymrak has 11, while both are equal with five assists.
However, Florida has strength in many other players and their ability to play together to get near goal and take shots is something that has worked successfully recently to beat out the opposing team, no matter how aggressive they are.
Midfielder Havana Solaun scored in the Ole Miss and Arkansas away games, both with Florida trailing and in a need of a ball finding the back of the net. Her most notable goal came when she split three defenders to make score against Ole Miss.
“She (Solaun) has this calmness about her and she displays that in high pressure situations in the game,” said Burleigh.
Burleigh said Solaun has a “high soccer IQ” and has great vision and touch on the ball that is rare to find.
The Florida soccer team only has one more regular-season game after the LSU match, playing South Carolina at home, giving the team the chance to finish out strong with a couple wins.
Gator Country reporter Michelle Provenzano can be reached at michellemprovenzano@gmail.com. You can also follow her on twitter, @mmprovenzano.