Florida Gators women's soccer
This article needs to be updated.(May 2022) |
The Florida Gators women's soccer team represents the University of Florida in the sport of college soccer. The Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They are coached by Samantha Bohon and play their home games at Donald R. Dizney Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. They have won thirteen conference championships and one NCAA national championship.
Florida Gators soccer | |
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Founded | 1995 |
University | University of Florida |
Head coach | Samantha Bohon |
Conference | SEC Eastern Division |
Location | Gainesville, Florida |
Stadium | Donald R. Dizney Stadium (Capacity: 1,500) |
Nickname | Florida Gators |
Colors | Orange and blue[1] |
NCAA Tournament championships | |
1998 | |
NCAA Tournament College Cup | |
1998, 2001 | |
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals | |
1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2014, 2017 | |
NCAA Tournament Round of 16 | |
1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 | |
NCAA Tournament Round of 32 | |
1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 | |
NCAA Tournament appearances | |
1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 | |
Conference Tournament championships | |
1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016 | |
Conference Regular Season championships | |
1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015 |
History
editBecky Burleigh was named the first head coach of the start-up Florida Gators soccer program on June 28, 1994.[2] Since the Gators' began play in the fall of 1995, the team has compiled a record of 414-120-36 and a winning percentage of 0.7579, and Burleigh's Gators teams have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 21 of the 24 seasons of the program's history.[2]
In 1998, in the Gators soccer program's fourth year of existence, the Gators won their first NCAA national title by defeating the defending national champion North Carolina Tar Heels 1–0 in the final game of the tournament.[3] The 1998 Gators finished 26–1, having lost their only match to the same North Carolina team that the Gators defeated in the NCAA championship final.[3] Players from the Gators' 1998 national championship team included All-Americans Erin Baxter, Danielle Fotopoulos and Heather Mitts.[3]
In addition to their 1998 national championship season, the Gators have advanced to the NCAA tournament semi-final once (2001), the quarter-finals four times (1996, 2003, 2014, 2017), and the round of sixteen six times (2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2017).[2]
The Gators play in the Southeastern Conference.[4] In conference play, the Gators teams have won ten SEC championships, and twelve SEC tournament titles, leading all other SEC teams since the Florida soccer team began play in 1995.[5] Most recently, the Gators won the SEC championship (regular season) again in 2015 and the SEC championship (tournament) in 2016. In 2016, the Gators advanced to the third round of the NCAA tournament before losing to Auburn.[2] The Gators finished the 2016 season 8–3-0 in the SEC, and 17-5-1 overall.[2]
Burleigh announced she would retire at the end of the team's 2020–21 season[6] and was replaced by Emery-Riddle head coach Samantha Bohon.
Roster
editAs of September 5, 2024[7]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notable playerseditAbby Wambach, first-team All-SEC (1998–2001), first-team All-American (1999, 2001), tied for the school record for career goals First-team All-AmericanseditThe following Florida soccer players have been named first-team All-Americans:[8]
Internationals and professionalsedit
Coaching staffeditBecky Burleigh became the first head coach of the Florida Gators soccer program on June 28, 1994. Prior to coaching at Florida, Burleigh was the head coach at Berry College, where her Lady Fury teams won two NAIA national championships.[2] At Florida and Berry, Burleigh compiled an overall record of 496-141-43, with a winning percentage of 0.7610.[2] She ranked fourth in total number of wins, and fifth in winning percentage, among all active Division I women's soccer coaches.[2] Tony Amato served as the coach for the 2021–2022 season before being terminated after 1 season and a 4-12-4 record. Samantha Bohon was hired as the third coach of the program on May 16, 2022.[15] James G. Pressly StadiumeditThe Florida Gators soccer team plays its home games in James G. Pressly Stadium.[16] Pressly Stadium is a dual-purpose facility serving as home to the soccer team and the men's and women's outdoor track & field teams.[16] It is a lighted stadium and has a seating capacity of approximately 4,500.[16] The stadium is named for James G. Pressly, a 1972 alumnus of the University of Florida College of Law, who made a generous contribution to have the facility upgraded for Division I play.[16] The Gators soccer team also has the exclusive use of a soccer practice field that was completed as part of the Florida Lacrosse Facility in 2009.[16] Season recordsedit
See alsoeditReferencesedit
External linksedit |