Heading into this weekend's matchups, the UF soccer team decided to take a lesson from the Gator football team.
The No. 15 Gators (7-2-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) are coming off two big conference wins against Georgia and Tennessee at home last weekend.
So when they hit the road to take on Vanderbilt on Friday night and Kentucky on Sunday, the Gators want to dispel any notion of a letdown like the football team's last weekend against Mississippi.
"We actually talked about (the UF football team Tuesday) at practice," junior defender Lauren Hyde said. "(Assistant) coach Alan (Kirkup) brought it up, and he's like, 'That's not gonna happen to us because it already happened to the football team, and we're going to learn from their mistake.'"
UF coach Becky Burleigh knows how important it is to not fall into the trap of thinking they have already won the game, especially on the road in the SEC.
"That's going come down to our leadership of our team," Burleigh said. "We've talked to them as coaches about it, but I think their everyday discussions with their teammates are probably more important."
One way to avoid upsets is to keep finishing scoring opportunities as UF has done lately.
The Gators scored seven goals in their last two games on just 16 shots on goal.
Freshman forward Tahnai Annis will look to get back into the scoring column. The freshman hasn't hit the net in the last four games after scoring four goals in the first six.
"I just want to do what I did when I came out against Tennessee," Annis said. "I felt that I played pretty aggressively and contributed a lot offensively. So I just want to come out with that same mentality."
As far as Annis could tell, the team didn't have any sense of relaxing too much this weekend.
She knows the Gators' opponents, however, certainly hope that's not the case.
"We all understand and know that we can't do that," Annis said. "Everyone's pretty much out to get us, so we have to play every weekend just like we did last weekend."
The UF defense will also be a key in claiming victories and avoiding upsets.
The Gators blanked the Commodores and Wildcats last season in Gainesville, but playing on the road should prove a little more challenging.
"I really didn't think it was going to be as difficult on the road as it really is," Annis said. "The travelling really drains your energy and drains your legs, and it's hard to get yourself in a good mental state of mind in order to perform as high as you can."
For Hyde, it's all about staying focused on beating Vanderbilt and Kentucky.
If that's the case, UF can probably turn off the letdown alert sign.
"We definitely have to keep our head in the game," Hyde said. "We can't let down and think, 'Oh, we beat Georgia and Tennessee, we can beat them easily.' That's definitely not the mentality we're going to have."
