After a record four-game road trip to begin the 2011 season, Florida plays its home opener tonight against Texas Tech at home.
However, the Gators’ focus is not on the Red Raiders — it’s on themselves.
“We’re pretty much focused on professing what we are doing as a team,” said junior midfielder McKenzie Barney. “If we can hone in on that and make sure we are doing the right things, we can make sure that Texas Tech, no matter what they throw at us, it’s something we can handle.”
The No. 13 Gators (3-1), despite their solid start to the season, are not resting on their laurels as they head into their home opener.
Rather than dissecting the Red Raiders, the Gators have focused their energy this week on executing the game plan and addressing areas of their performance that did not meet their standards during the first four games of the season.
The Gators’ split their two games in Knoxville, Tenn., at last weekend’s First Lady Vol Classic with a 3-2 win against Texas A&M and a 2-0 loss to No. 6 UCLA. While Florida head coach Becky Burleigh said there were positives to take away from the Gators’ weekend in Tennessee, she believes the games revealed areas in which her team still needs to make improvements.
Burleigh specifically mentioned reducing turnovers and the Gators’ defensive play as a team, not necessarily their back line. Gators opponents had a total of 21 shots in their first two games, while Texas A&M launched 21 and UCLA attempted 19.
“To this point we have kind of focused more on offense,” said senior defender Jazmyne Avant.
“Now is when we are starting to work on the defensive part of things.”
Avant said UF has placed a heavy emphasis on one-on-one defense in practice this week.
She believes that if the Gators execute their defense in all of their formations, they can neutralize any Red Raiders attack.
While the Florida’s focal point this week has been sharpening their defensive play, Burleigh said that doesn’t mean they are taking Texas Tech lightly.
“We don’t take anybody for granted by any stretch,” she said. “It is our first home game, and we need to defend our turf.”
But before the Gators can take the field tonight at Pressly Stadium, they will get to speak with a couple of former Gators who have some recent big-game experience of their own.
Heather Mitts and Abby Wambach, both of whom are less than two months removed from their FIFA Women’s World Cup Final appearance with the U.S. women’s national team, will speak with the Gators prior to the game and sign autographs for fans after.
“Being able to get any sort of advice and inspiration from them is going to fire us up,” Barney said.
