No. 14 Florida Soccer Team Plays Host to No. 9 FSU Sunday

9/8/07

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The No. 14 University of Florida soccer team (2-1, 0-0 SEC) faces its second opponent that advanced to the 2006 NCAA College Cup when it plays host to No. 9 Florida State (2-1) on Sunday, Sept. 9. Match time is set for 1:30 p.m. at the James G. Pressly Stadium and the match will be televised live on SUN Sports.

The first 1,000 fans at Sunday’s match receive an orange “Beat FSU” bandana. One lucky fan will also have the opportunity to take the “Dodge Soccer Shot” for $500.00.

This is the second Sunday in a row that a 2006 NCAA College Cup team has visited the James G. Pressly Stadium. Notre Dame was the first, defeating Florida 2-0 on Sunday, Sept. 2 in a match that saw weather delays totaling almost five hours. The Fighting Irish lost 2-1 to North Carolina in the 2006 NCAA College Cup final. The Seminoles reached the
2006 NCAA College Cup semifinal, losing 2-1 to the Irish. Florida is the only team in the nation that faces two 2006 College Cup teams through the first two weekends of the 2007 season. The only team with more than one meeting with a 2006 College Cup team by the end of September is Portland - vs. Florida State (UP 2, FSU 1 OT/Sept. 1) and at UCLA (Sept.
28).

There are five NCAA College Cup appearances between these two in-state rivals. Florida advanced to the College Cup in 1998 and 2001, winning the title in 1998. The Seminoles defeated Florida 2-1 in the NCAA Quarterfinal round to advance to its first College Cup in 2003. FSU also advanced to the 2005 & 2006 College Cups.

Florida opened this weekend's action with a 4-0 win over USF Friday.
Senior Ashley Harris turned in a pair of UF's goals within a three-minute span Friday. The Gators split in its season-opening weekend of action. UF defeated Indiana 1-0 on Aug. 31, with senior KeLeigh Hudson delivered the deciding goal in the 13th minute. On Sunday, Florida lost to No. 2 Notre Dame 2-0 in match that had weather-related delays that totaled nearly five hours. Florida outshot the Irish 11-4, marking the second time in the last 105 matches that ND was outshot (the other team was UNC in the 2006 NCAA College Cup final), but that was little consolation to the Gators who couldn't capitalize on the shot advantage.

FSU opened the season with a 2-1 OT loss at No. 4 Portland on Sept. 1 and posted a 6-1 win over Cal State Northridge on Sept. 3. FSU defeated Francis Marion 10-0 Friday night in Tallahassee. It was the most goals scored by FSU at home since downing Jacksonville 11-0 back on Sept. 13, 1995. Junior Mami Yamaguchi leads the Seminoles in 2007 with four goals and four assists for 12 points.

Florida leads the all-time series 8-6, but hasn't defeated the Seminoles at Pressly Stadium since posting a 2-0 win in the regular-season meeting on Sept. 5, 2003. There is one player on the current Florida team that played in that 2003 match, but Melanie Booth won't be with the Gators Sunday as she is in China preparing for Canada's opening match of the FIFA Women's World Cup. Canada faces the fourth-ranked team in the world - Norway -Wednesday in the opening day of Group C play. As a freshman, Booth played 90 minutes of that 2-0 win versus FSU in 2003.

Sunday's match can be heard live on www.GatorZone.com, the official site of Florida athletics. Adam Schick and Matthew Stubbington will cover the action the GatorZone.com listeners.