Florida soccer steps away from league play today to meet its fourth top-25 opponent of the season — No. 16 Florida State for the Fresh from Florida Sunshine Showdown at 6 p.m. at the James G. Pressly Stadium. Admission is free for all Gator soccer regular-season matches.
The No. 10 Gators enter with an 11-2 overall record, while FSU is 8-3.
Hurricane Irma forced this match to move from Sept. 8 to Oct. 12. It is the second consecutive year a hurricane interfered with this rivalry, as Hurricane Hermine caused the cancellation of 2016 meeting due to the storm’s impact on the Tallahassee area.
The Florida-Florida State series has gone back-and-forth in recent years. After three consecutive Seminole wins in 2011, 2012 and 2013, the Gators have taken the last two meetings. The Gators own a 13-10 advantage in the all-time series. This is the 15th time since 2000 and 10th consecutive both teams rank in the top 25 for a meeting.
The first 250 fans receive a Gator Soccer performance t-shirt. Take advantage of the Thursday Soccer $1 Concession deal — 12 ounce drink and a large popcorn for just $1 each.
LACROSSE
Gators set to join American Athletic Conference
American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco has announced the addition of women’s lacrosse as the conference’s 22nd sport beginning in 2019. The six-team league will be comprised of current conference members Cincinnati, Connecticut, East Carolina and Temple, as well as Florida and Vanderbilt as affiliate members.
The American will be the third conference that the Gators have competed in, after spending 2010-2014 in the American Lacrosse Conference and 2015-present in the Big East. Florida is currently riding a streak of seven consecutive conference championships dating back to 2011.
“The American Athletic Conference will be a great new challenge for this program,” said Florida coach Amanda O’Leary. “We faced a high level of competition in the BIG EAST, and are thrilled to carry that over into The American. We’re very excited to build on the tradition of success we’ve created in the past eight years.”
The American becomes the 16th Division I conference to sponsor women’s lacrosse.
Cincinnati, UConn, Temple, Florida and Vanderbilt are current members of the Big East Conference in women’s lacrosse, while ECU begins its first season of intercollegiate competition in 2018 after the addition of women’s lacrosse to its sports roster in March 2016.
SOFTBALL
Tickets go on sale
Florida softball season ticket holders are able to start renewing their seats for the 2018 season beginning Oct. 18.
“Last year we received amazing support from our season ticket holders and fans at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium,” Florida coach Tim Walton said. “The energy and excitement from Gator fans really helps fuel us on the field and we look forward to having that elite level of energy for a competitive 2018 season.”
In 2017, UF set stadium attendance records against Georgia (2,497) and later vs. Florida State (2,574). Florida ranked seventh nationally in average attendance at 1,500 fans.
Fans renewing or looking become new season ticket holders should contact the Gator Ticket Office for more information.
