Last Time Out: With their backs against the wall in terms of SEC standings, the Bulldogs went out and earned six crucial points over the weekend. Georgia first traveled to Nashville to play Vanderbilt on Friday and came out and played arguably their most complete game of the year. The Bulldogs jumped right out of the gates, scoring in the second minute of the game when Bella Hartley drilled her third goal of the year. Fifteen minutes later Marion Crowder put the Bulldogs up 2-0, scoring a header off of a double assist. The final Georgia goal was registered by senior Cara Smith, scoring her first goal of the season in the 41st minute.
The Bulldogs kept their hot play rolling when they traveled to No. 16 Auburn on Sunday. A stout defensive effort handed the Tigers their first home loss of the season and gave Georgia another three points in the conference standings. Freshman Sydney Shultis scored the first goal of her career in the 83rd minute off of a corner kick from Taylor Donohue to give the Dawgs a 1-0 victory.
Looking at the Gators: Florida enters the matchup tied for first in league standings with Missouri. The Gators rank near the top of the SEC in many statistical standings, leading the league in points, goals and goals per game.
Florida is led on offense by All-American Savannah Jordan, who has scored 17 goals so far this season. Jordan’s counterpart Brooke Sharp has tallied 10 goals on the year. The duo has combined for 27 goals and 8 assists. The Gator’s rely heavily on Christen Westphal to dish out the ball. The senior midfielder has 10 assists on the 2015 slate.
While ranking near the top of the SEC offensively, the Gators are near the middle of the pack of the SEC in terms of defensive stats. Florida ranks tenth overall in goals allowed, conceding 21 goals so far. Two Florida goalkeepers have seen serious minutes this year with freshman Kaylan Marckese seeing most of the minutes recently.
The Gators hold an all-time series record advantage of 26-2-1 over Georgia. The Gators have won the last eight meetings between the two teams.
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