No. 3 Gamecocks Aim For SEC Title In Regular-Season Finale at No. 17 Florida

GAINESVILLE, F. L. . — No. 3 South Carolina women’s soccer (14-1-1) closes out regular-season play this week when it faces No. 17 Florida (13-4-0) on the road on Thursday, Oct. 26. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m at Donald R. Dizney Stadium in Gainesville, Florida.

The Gators enter Thursday’s contest on a two-game winning streak after earning victories over Kentucky (2-0, Oct. 19) and No. 11 Tennessee (2-1, Oct. 22) last week. Florida sports a mark 6-1-0 in home matches this season in a stretch highlighted by a 3-2 victory over No. 1 Stanford on Aug. 25. The Gators are 3-1-0 against ranked opponents this year, and Thursday will mark their second match against a top-five foe in 2017.

Freshman attacker Deanne Rose leads Florida in points (19) and goals (8) this season, while redshirt senior midfielder Gabby Seiler paces the team with six assists to go with six tallies. The Gators rank fourth in the SEC with 31 goals, and their 28 assists stand as the fifth-best mark among conference members. Junior Kaylan Marckese and sophomore Susi Espinoza have split time in net for Florida, which boasts the third-best goals against average in the league.

The Gamecocks enter Thursday’s contest on a 13-game unbeaten streak.

South Carolina battled to a 1-1 draw against Georgia this past Sunday at Stone Stadium. Senior midfielder Lindsey Lane registered her second goal of the season in the tie for the Gamecocks, who pushed their unbeaten streak to 13 matches with the result against the Bulldogs.

Lane opened the scoring in the 34th minute after the Gamecocks were awarded a penalty kick. Georgia was called for a foul in the box when a Bulldog defender pulled down Carolina’s Grace Fisk near the left post following a free kick from Gamecock senior attacker Savannah McCaskill. Lane lined up from the spot and calmly converted the penalty kick, slotting the ball into the heart of the net to give Carolina a 1-0 lead.

South Carolina has won three of its last five matches against the Gators in a stretch that dates back to 2013. Florida leads the overall series with a record of 22-6-1.

South Carolina can possibly win the SEC Regular-Season Title with: A win over Florida or a Texas A&M loss to Mississippi State Thursday or a draw with the Gators coupled with a tie by the Aggies.

South Carolina can possibly earn a share of the SEC Regular-Season Title: A loss to Florida and a tie by Texas A&M

The Gamecocks open play at the 2017 SEC Soccer Championship in Orange Beach, Ala., on Tuesday, Oct. 31. Carolina’s quarterfinal opponent and the time of the match will be determined following Thursday’s regular-season finale.