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The Florida Gators are set for their home opener after starting the season with five straight away games. After winning the first two, the Gators have lost their last three against Southern California, UCLA, and Florida State. Now, the Gators will look to even up their record against the UCF Knights.
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A Tough Run of Games
Although Florida’s current form may worry some fans, the reality is that the Gators played some of the top teams in the country. At the time they played, USC was ranked No. 5, UCLA was No. 4, and FSU, the defending champs, was No. 6. In addition, Florida has been without one of its most dynamic players in Canadian-international Deanne Rose since the UCLA match. She’s been dealing with a hamstring injury.
A Look at UCF
The Knights are still in search of their first win of the season. They opened with a 1-0 loss to No. 16 Wisconsin, followed by a 1-1 draw to Ohio State and a 2-2 draw at George Mason.
The Knights’ three goal-scorers thus far are Kristen Scott, Dayana Martin and Jessica Taylor.
Overall, the Gators are 14-4-1 against the Knights since 1995. However, in their meeting last year, the Knights emerged victorious 3-0.
One of the notable players on the Knights’ roster is senior central defender Konya Plummer. She helped her native country, Jamaica, qualify for their first-ever World Cup in the 2019 edition in France. She played all three group matches against Brazil, Italy and Australia. Although they lost all three, the Reggae Girlz made history by becoming the first Caribbean women’s team to qualify for a World Cup.
Home-Field Advantage
The Florida Gators will finally have the home crowd on their side. Last time out, the Gators played through a lively and vocal FSU crowd.
1-1 with 24 to go! #Seminoles #Gators pic.twitter.com/3CZHdU6t1z
— J.ERICK (@JD_Erickson) September 7, 2019
Senior midfielder Tess Sapone made a call-to-action for Gator fans ahead of their home opener.
“Come out and rep,” said Sapone. “The younger players haven’t had a home game yet, so this is an opportunity for them to see what a home game atmosphere is like and what the Gator Nation brings.”
Match Details
The 20th edition of Florida-UCF will kick off at 6 p.m. Tune in to ESPN 98.1 FM 850 AM WRUF for live coverage of the match with Skyler Lebron and Juan Aguerrevere.
