Aug. 12, 2009

Courtesy of Florida Athletics

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida soccer team is No. 10 on the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) preseason poll. 2008 NCAA champion North Carolina tops the NSCAA preseason poll.
This is the 13th consecutive season that Florida appears in the NSCAA preseason poll in the 15-year history of the program.

The Gators meet three teams ranked in the NSCAA preseason poll during the 2009 regular season. Florida meets a pair of top-10 preseason teams in the month of September. No. 5 UCLA, a semifinalist in the 2008 NCAA Championship tournament, meets the Gators on Sept. 6 in Champaign, Ill.

The Gators play host to No. 6 Florida State on Friday, Sept. 18 at the James. G. Pressly Stadium. Florida will face No. 18 Georgia on Oct. 18 in Athens, Ga.

Three additional 2009 Gator opponents received votes in the 2009 NSCAA preseason rankings – Tennessee, LSU and Colorado. Florida plays host to Colorado on Sept. 13 and LSU on Oct. 22. The Gators face Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., on Oct. 16.

In 2008, Florida earned its ninth Southeastern Conference team title, advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 and finished with a record of 19-4-1.

Florida opens the 2009-10 competitive campaign for the Gator athletic program when it travels to Coral Gables, Fla., to meet Miami on Aug. 21.

The opening weekend of home action for the Gator soccer team is Aug. 28-30. Florida faces Florida International for the 2009 home opener at the Pressly Stadium. Florida also meets USF on Aug. 30 at 1 p.m.