Florida Soccer Announces 2009 Schedule

6/8/09

Gainesville, FL - A challenging schedule stands before a youthful University of Florida soccer team in 2009 as half of the Gators' 20 regular-season opponents advanced to the 2008 NCAA Championship.

“A tough regular-season schedule helps prepare us for the post-season,” UF Head Coach Becky Burleigh said. “The competiveness of the SEC teams grows each year, which was shown last season with six SEC teams advancing to NCAA play. This entire schedule is going to test this team, so we’ll need to be prepared for every match.”

By the end of September, Florida will have faced five 2008 NCAA Championship teams, including 2008 NCAA College Cup semifinalist UCLA on Sept. 6 in Champaign, Ill. This is the 12th time in the program's 15-year history that Florida will face at least one team from the previous season’s NCAA College Cup field.

The season begins with three consecutive in-state rivals. Florida opens at Miami in Coral Gables on Friday, Aug. 21. The Hurricanes advanced to their second consecutive NCAA appearance in 2008, falling to UCF 3-1 in opening round action. The 2009 home season opens for Florida the next weekend with Florida International (Aug. 28) and USF (Aug. 30). A road trip to the Midwest opens with the first meeting with Indiana in Bloomington, Ind., on Friday, Sept. 4. Then Florida meets UCLA on Sunday, Sept. 6 in Champaign, Ill.

Florida returns to Gainesville to begin a six-match home stand which opens with three consecutive opponents that advanced to the 2008 NCAA Championship field. 2008 NCAA quarterfinalist Duke meets Florida for the first time since 2006 on Friday, Sept. 11. Then Colorado makes its first visit to Gainesville for a Sunday, Sept. 13 match. The Buffaloes advanced to the NCAA opening round in 2008. Another NCAA quarterfinalist, Florida State, comes to the James G. Pressly Stadium on Friday, Sept. 18. Eastern Kentucky (Sunday, Sept. 20) is the Gators’
final opponent prior to the opening weekend of conference play.

Defense of Florida’s 2008 Southeastern Conference team title begins the final weekend of September. League action opens with Kentucky (Friday, Sept. 25) and Vanderbilt (Sunday, Sept. 27). Five of Florida’s final six league opponents received a 2008 NCAA Championship berth – vs. Auburn (Sunday, Oct. 11), at Tennessee (Friday, Oct. 16), at Georgia (Sunday, Oct. 18), vs. LSU (Thursday, Oct.
22) and vs. South Carolina (Friday, Oct. 30).

Other SEC dates include at Mississippi State (Friday, Oct. 2), at Mississippi (Sunday, Oct. 4), vs. Alabama (Sunday, Oct. 11) and vs.
Arkansas (Sunday, Oct. 25).

The 2009 SEC Tournament, set for Nov. 4-8, will be played in Orange Beach, Ala., for the fourth consecutive year. The NCAA Championship field will be announced on Nov. 9.

During the 2008 season, Florida turned in a record of 19-4-1, which included becoming the first team to post an 11-0 record in SEC play since the league started round-robin play in 2004. The Gators advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 and won its ninth SEC title. The Gators ranked No. 10 on the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America
(NSCAA) poll.

2009 University of Florida Soccer Schedule
Date Opponent Site
Friday, Aug. 21 Miami Coral Gables, Fla.
Friday, Aug. 28 Florida International Gainesville, Fla.
Sunday, Aug. 30 USF Gainesville, Fla.
Friday, Sept. 4 Indiana Bloomington, Ind.
Sunday, Sept. 6 UCLA Champaign, Ill.
Friday, Sept. 11 Duke Gainesville, Fla.
Sunday, Sept. 13 Colorado Gainesville, Fla.
Friday, Sept. 18 Florida State Gainesville, Fla.
Sunday, Sept. 20 Eastern Kentucky Gainesville, Fla.
Friday, Sept. 25 Kentucky Gainesville, Fla.
Sunday, Sept. 27 Vanderbilt Gainesville, Fla.
Friday, Oct. 2 Mississippi State Starkville, Miss.
Sunday, Oct. 4 Mississippi Oxford, Miss.
Friday, Oct. 9 Alabama Gainesville, Fla.
Sunday, Oct. 11 Auburn Gainesville, Fla.
Friday, Oct. 16 Tennessee Knoxville, Tenn.
Sunday, Oct. 18 Georgia Athens, Ga.
Thursday, Oct. 22 LSU Gainesville, Fla.
Sunday, Oct. 25 Arkansas Fayetteville, Ark.
Friday, Oct. 30 South Carolina Gainesville, Fla.
Home matches played at James G. Pressly Stadium