The Florida soccer team will host the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at 7 p.m. Friday against South Florida.
The Gators (11-8-1) claimed one of the 33 at-large berths for the 64-team field. South Florida (14-4) won the American Athletic Conference Tournament with a 2-0 decision over No. 8 Memphis to earn the program’s sixth NCAA berth and third consecutive.
"I felt like we were going to be in the tournament, but you never know until you see it up on the screen. It was definitely exciting to see Florida listed," Florida coach Becky Burleigh said.
Florida defeated USF 2-0 on Aug. 25 in Tampa.
"That game feels like it was a year ago because it was so early in the season. I know we have definitely developed as a team, just as I’m sure USF has as well,“ Burleigh said. ”We expected it to be a super competitive match as is every match we play with them."
The tournament schedule for the next four weeks is 1-2-1-2. First round play will be Friday, Saturday or Sunday. The second and third rounds are next weekend (Nov. 22 and 24) at eight campus sites. NCAA Quarterfinal action will be Nov. 29 or 30 on four campus sites with the Women’s College Cup set for Dec. 6 and 8 at the Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif. This is the fourth San Jose appearance for the NCAA Women’s College Cup (2016, 2000, 1999).
