Florida
travels to Chapel Hill, N.C., to face a pair of top-15 teams in the
Nike Carolina Classic. The Gators open with No. 14 North Carolina on
Friday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. in a match scheduled to stream on ESPN3. Then
Florida faces No. 2 Duke on Sunday, Aug. 26 at 1 p.m.
Both
North Carolina and Florida enter Friday’s match coming off
season-opening losses. Florida found itself trailing 3-0 at halftime
versus Miami in the 2012 debut at the James G. Pressly Stadium on Aug.
17. Freshman Claire Falknor put the Gators on the board in the 58th
minute, but the Hurricanes pushed the lead to the final 4-1 margin in
the 67th minute. It was the second home-opening loss in the 18-year
history of Gator soccer. North Carolina suffered only its fourth
season-opening loss in its 34-year history when it fell 1-0 at Portland
on Aug. 17. The Pilots scored the only goal of the match off a free kick
in the fourth minute to claim its first win ever over North Carolina.
This
is the 10th meeting between the two teams and the Gators’ only win over
UNC in the 1998 NCAA College Cup final gave UF the national title. This
is the second time UNC enters a match with UF without the No. 1 ranking
(first was 2006 when No. 5 UNC took a 1-0 win in Durham, N.C.).
Both
the Gators and the Tar Heel have players more than seven thousand miles
away at the 2012 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup. Play began Aug. 20 in
Japan and the medal matches are scheduled for Sept. 8.
Gator
junior transfer Adriana Leon is with the Canadian national team. She
joined the Gator team this season after playing the 2010 and 2011
campaigns at Notre Dame. She turned in three goals in Canada’s 6-0 win
versus Argentina in the opening match.
North Carolina is without four players. Three are members of the U.S. U-20 team - junior forwards Crystal Dunn and Kealia Ohai and freshman goalkeeper Bryane Hearberlin. New Zealand freshman defender Katie Bowen is competing for the Football Ferns. The U.S. defeated Ghana 4-0 in its opening match and New Zealand started play with a 2-1 victory over Switzerland.
