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10/5/2006 Vanderbilt Soccer Hosts SEC East Leaders Florida And South Carolina This Weekend Friday, Oct. 6 – 7 p.m. CT Sunday, Oct. 8 – 1 p.m. CT Setting the Scene: Vanderbilt closes out its four-game homestand with pivotal SEC East matchups against Florida and South Carolina. The Commodores and Gators will face off Friday night at 7 p.m. in a regionally televised game by Sun Sports. VU will then take on the Gamecocks on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the VU Soccer Complex. USC takes on Kentucky on Friday, before heading to Nashville. Series History vs. Florida: Florida holds a 14-2-1 all-time advantage, including a 3-0 win last season in Gainesville. vs. South Carolina: Vanderbilt leads 10-1-1 all-time, including a 2-0 win last year in Columbia. Polls (NSCAA-National Soccer Coaches Association) (SB- Soccer Buzz) (ST- Soccer Times) (SA- Soccer America) (TD- Top Drawer Soccer) Florida is nationally ranked in four polls. The Gators are 14th by TD, 16th by ST, 19th by SB and 21st by the NSCAA. They are also ranked fourth in the Southeast region by SB and the NSCAA. South Carolina is ranked No. 29 by SB and are receiving votes in the NSCAA poll. They are ranked sixth in the Southeast region by both SB and the NSCAA. Vanderbilt is ranked 20th by TD and are receiving votes in the NSCAA poll. They are ranked fifth in the Central region by the NSCAA and 11th by SB. The Coaches VU’s Ronnie Coveleskie is 64-58-23 in her eighth season overall as a head coach and is 49-37-20 in six seasons in Nashville. UF ‘s Becky Burleigh is 205-53-13 in her 12th season in Gainesville. She is 287-76-19 in 17 seasons overall. USC’s Shelley Smith is 54-46-11 in her sixth season in Columbia and is 95-81-13 in 10 seasons overall. Scouting Florida The perennially nationally ranked Florida squad comes into Friday’s game with a 7-4-1 overall record and a 3-1 mark in SEC action. The Gators rallied to defeat Georgia in overtime, 2-1, last Friday, but fell to Tennessee by the same score at home. Junior Stacy Bishop leads the offense with six goals and two assists on the year, while senior goalkeeper Brittni Goodwin anchors the defense with a 0.85 goals against average. The Gators have scored 28 goals this year, and have given up just 11. Series Note: Vanderbilt’s last win in the series came in 1997. Since that time, Florida has gone 13-0-1 against the Commodores. Scouting South Carolina South Carolina is 9-3-1 on the year and 3-0-1 in conference action after tying nationally ranked Tennessee, 0-0, and defeating Georgia, 2-1, last weekend at home. Sophomore Felicia Schroeder leads the team in scoring with seven goals and two assists, while goalkeeper Laura Armstrong is having a stellar campaign with five shutouts and a 0.48 goals against average. The Gamecocks have outscored opponents 22-6 on the year, including 5-1 in SEC games. Series Note: Vanderbilt has controlled the series, having just one loss, a 1-0 showing in the 1999 season. The Commodores have gone 6-0-1 since that loss against the Gamecocks. Broadcast Info/Live Stats Friday’s contest against Florida will be televised on the Sun Sports Network. Larry Vettel (play-by-play) and Jen Hildreth (analysis) will call the action. Check for live stats and updated information on the Vanderbilt Soccer team throughout the season. Team Tidbits Vanderbilt went 1-0-1 last week to extend its unbeaten streak to nine games. The Commodores have gone 6-0-3 in that span … Senior goalkeeper Tyler Griffin became the school’s all-time shutout leader with her 29th coming against Auburn on Sunday. She has six shutouts this season in 11 games played. She is 15th in the country in save percentage (.885) and 19th in goals against average (0.491). VU equaled its school record of five ties with a 0-0 draw against Auburn on Sunday (team had five in 2004) … Four of the ties have been scoreless draws … Senior Lea Lafield scored her fourth goal of the year against Alabama last Friday, tying her for the team lead … Junior Amy Baumann scored her first goal of the season against the Crimson Tide, while freshman Nicole Lukens scored her third goal of the year in the win … Vanderbilt has outshot opponents 202-144 on the year, including a 106-67 advantage in the second half … Head coach Ronnie Coveleskie picked up her 49th win as the Commodore head coach against Alabama … Vanderbilt is 3-0-3 at home this year and plays two of its final three home contests this weekend against Florida and South Carolina. |
