Nine goals and five assists.
That's what UF will be missing as they head to Los Angeles to face Southern Cal in the Sweet 16, Saturday at 10 p.m.
Coach Becky Burleigh said Tuesday that senior forward KeLeigh Hudson would miss the remainder of the NCAA Tournament with a sprained anterior cruciate ligament.
The senior went down in the ninth minute of Sunday's second-round match against Central Florida.
"It's definitely a loss on the field," Burleigh said, "but we expect her to maintain her leadership role whether she's on the field or not. I thought she did a good job of that on Sunday and I think she'll continue doing that for us."
Though saddened by the abrupt ending to Hudson's career as a Gator, UF appreciates the leadership she will continue to provide.
Hudson was a vocal leader on the team and no one expects that to change.
"She's someone that's going to be shouting at us the whole game," defender Lauren Hyde said. "She's always trying to pump us up. She did it during the game, so now that she's on the sideline, I feel like she's going to be able to do it even more off the field. She's going to do her part."
The Gators are confident the depth of the team will minimize the sting of losing their second-leading scorer.
Forward Ashley Harris started just nine games this season but still rung up eight goals and three assists.
"We can go deep into the bench," forward Ashlee Elliott said. "We've got girls who can step into any position and can score. We've got people who can go and get an assist or play defense. I honestly still feel confident going into this weekend."
A bit of that confidence appears to be derived from a desire to win for their fallen teammate.
"We're all going into this thinking we want to win it not only for ourselves but especially for a girl who can't play," Hyde said. "That was her last game. KeLeigh deserves to be playing, but bad things happen like that.
"Going into the Sweet 16 and knowing that she can't play, we're all going to do our best to do it for her."
Familiar Territory: For the second consecutive year the Gators are heading to Los Angeles for the Sweet 16. UF's path to the round of 16 mirrors last season's. Last year the Gators knocked off Marquette 4-3 in penalty kicks, just like they did Sunday against Central Florida.
UF lost in the next round to UCLA.
"Going to California is always hard because of the 3-hour time difference," Hyde said. "It's nice to have been there last year and know what's going to happen. It's nice going back there with a chance to win. I talked to one of the girls from [UCLA] over the summer and she said you guys should've won that game."
As far as Harris is concerned, it's a new year and a new team.
"We're playing a different team and we won both the regular season and postseason [Southeastern Conference] titles," Harris said. "So we're not the same team."
