While the Gators have played their way to a 6-0 start in Southeastern Conference play, the toughest roads may still be ahead of them.
The rest of the schedule includes four of the five games being on the road and facing the top four teams in the SEC West (Mississippi, Auburn, LSU and Arkansas) and the East's second place team in South Carolina.
That rough path starts this weekend as No. 12 UF heads to Auburn and Alabama.
Although the Gators have lopsided all-time records against the two teams (9-3-1 against the Tigers and 11-0-1 versus the Crimson Tide), the road victories have not come easy against them.
"We have always had a tough time playing at both of these schools, and it's not something we take for granted," UF coach Becky Burleigh said.
The Gators will rely heavily on the leadership from the team's three seniors, whose improved play since the start of SEC propels the Gators' success at home and especially on the road.
Midfielder Ameera Abdullah and forward Megan Kerns have been the catalysts for the recent surge in UF's offense. In the six SEC matches, Abdullah has four goals and four assists, and Kerns has three goals and three assists.
"(Kerns and Abdullah) are starting to click in terms of the contributions they are starting to make, not just on the playing field but actually on the stat sheet too," Burleigh said.
As those two lead the attack, midfielder Liz Ruberry provides extra guidance to the defensive side of the field.
"(Ruberry) is such a calming presence, she is like having another coach on the field for us," Burleigh said.
This past weekend the leadership shined as Abdullah scored the only goal in the Gators' 1-0 win against Mississippi, and Kerns netted a score on an assist from Abdullah and added an assist of her own in the 3-0 victory versus Mississippi State. The defensive-minded Ruberry helped UF pitch the two shutouts and get out of the rut it has been in the previous few matches.
Burleigh credits the return to concentrating on the basics for the defense's success this past weekend.
"When you ask (the defense to get involved in the attack), you risk having some issues in the defense," Burleigh said. "If we are smart we can still continue that attacking style, but everybody has to understand when people go, someone has to fill in."
The aggressive defense has made its mark in the box score, most noticeably sophomore Nicky Kit, who has scored two goals in the last three games.
The additional offense might have affected the defense for a couple of games, but Burleigh never considered holding her defenders back from attacking.
"That's just not our style," Burleigh said. "What makes our team dangerous is that everybody does (attack)."
