Soccer Opens NCAA Tourney at Florida
Nov. 15, 2007
Complete Notes | NCAA Tournament Bracket | Live Stats | Audio | Video
Tournament Time… The University of Miami women’s soccer team (9-6-5) travels to Gainesville to take on third-seeded Florida (16-4-2) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday. It the second NCAA Tournament berth for the Hurricanes in their 10th season of play, as they last advanced to the postseason in 2001. That year, Miami came to Gainesville to square off versus Georgia, falling 5-2 in first-round action.
The Series… Friday marks the third meeting between the Sunshine State rivals. The series is split, 1-1-0, with the Hurricanes claiming the 1-0 win in their most recent meeting on Sept. 9, 2001 in Gainesville. Conversely, the Gators picked up a win on Miami’s turf, 4-2, on Aug. 27, 2000.
Road Trip… Florida is the fifth in-state opponent Miami has faced this season and the fourth on the road. The Hurricanes have gone 1-2-1 versus Sunshine State programs this season, knocking off cross-town rival Florida International, 3-1,on Oct. 17, tying UCF, 2-2, in Orlando on Sept. 19 and falling to then-No. 12 Florida State in Tallahassee and USF in the home opener.
Playing the Field… The Atlantic Coast Conference leads all leagues with eight teams advancing to the NCAA field — including top-seeded North Carolina, third-seeded Florida State, fourth-seeded Wake Forest, fourth-seeded Virginia, Boston College, Duke, Clemson and Miami. Of the 64 teams making up the 2007 field, the Hurricanes have played 11 of them over their 20-game regular-season slate — including the other seven ACC schools, Alabama A&M, LSU, Samford and UCF. UCF will face Auburn in first-round play in Gainesville as well, with the winners of the Miami-Florida game advancing to Sunday’s second round to face the winner of the UCF-Auburn contest.
Pitch Perfect… After putting together the strongest ACC season in Miami history, Miami head coach Tricia Taliaferro and freshmen Brittney Steinbruch and Lauren Singer were honored by the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Taliaferro earned her first ACC Coach of the Year nod after leading the Hurricanes to wins over a pair of top-10 opponents — handing defending national champion North Carolina its only conference loss of the season and previously unbeaten Boston College its first loss — and to a fifth-place finish in the league.
Steinbruch earned Freshman of the Year recognition and became the first Hurricane soccer player named to the All-ACC First Team after a sensational freshman campaign for the ‘Canes. The 5-8 forward leads the ACC with 110 shots and six game-winning goals on the season, and is second in the league with 16 goals and 35 points. Entering this weekend’s NCAA Tournament, she ranks ninth in the NCAA with 0.8 goals per game and is 19th in the nation with 1.75 points per game. Steinbruch was one of two Hurricanes to earn NSCAA National Player of the Week honors this season.
Singer also put together a strong freshman campaign, finishing the regular season ranked among the ACC’s top 10 in shots (2.47), points (1.05), goals per game (0.37) and assists per game (0.32). The 5-8 forward started 19 of 20 games this season and ranks second on the team with 18 points on seven goals and four assists.
