Gator Soccer Faces No. 1 Seed Arkansas in SEC Tournament Semifinals

After the number five seed Gator soccer team notched the only upset of the SEC tournament so far, beating four seed Texas A&M 2-1 on Tuesday, the team looks to do the same this afternoon.

Florida faces the nationally ranked number six Arkansas soccer team, who earned the number one seed in the SEC Tournament after posting a conference best 14-2-2 record.

 Razorbacks Off to the Races

Arkansas came into postseason play coming off a tremendous regular season that saw the team win its first SEC title in program history.

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The Razorbacks are a well-rounded team. They led the conference in goals and assists, while also never allowing more than one goal in a game. In fact, they have only conceded seven goals all season.

The Arkansas attack boasts two ferocious forwards in junior Parker Goins and freshman Anna Podojil, who were both named to the All-SEC First Team. Podojil leads the team with 12 goals this season while Goins is just behind her with nine.

On defense, three more players who earned conference honors will be waiting for the Gators, including goalkeeper Katie Lund.  Arkansas is looking for its fourth straight trip to the conference tournament finals under coach Colby Hale, who was named the SEC Coach of the Year. Hale owns a 110-60-20 record at the school.

The Razorbacks defeated eight seed Ole Miss 1-0 on Tuesday thanks to a first half penalty kick.

Florida Not Phased

Arkansas is one of the few SEC teams the Gators did not play during the regular season. Nevertheless, Florida midfielder Parker Roberts is excited for the opportunity to face the best team in the conference.

Roberts continued to build on a career-best scoring year by netting her fifth goal of the season in the 2-1 victory over the Aggies on Tuesday.

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The Gators are without the scoring exploits of forward Deanne Rose, the team’s second leading scorer, for the entirety of the tournament. She is with the Canadian National Team.

Kick off is at 4:30 while the other semifinal between No. 2 Vanderbilt and No. 3 South Carolina will follow.  Florida did not beat either of these teams when they met in the regular season.