Last season, UF coach Becky Burleigh had more players on the roster than in any of her previous 15 years at Florida, but it still wasn’t enough.
Even with a school-record 38 athletes, the coach trusted just nine players to come off the bench in 2010’s two opening matchups, including a 2-1 overtime thriller against Miami.
For all her team’s numbers, Burleigh said, it lacked the quality depth that she is currently enjoying with her smaller 2011 squad.
“It’s definitely going to be a strength this year,” she said. “That’s something that is pretty evident. There’s a lot of players who are capable of being in our starting group, and that’s a coach’s dream.”
During No. 9 Florida’s (2-0-0) opening slate against Miami (1-1-0) and FIU (0-2-0) last weekend, Burleigh sent in 16 new players – compared to just 10 by opponents, who were slowly worn down by the wave of reinforcements.
Only seven Gators started both contests, and the competition on the team has been ramping up to see who will play this weekend against No. 11 Texas A&M (1-1-0) and No. 16. UCLA (1-0-0) in Knoxville, Tenn.
“Nobody is complacent and everybody’s fighting for a spot and for time,” redshirt junior McKenzie Barney said. “Everybody making each other better is the biggest thing this year. That’s the difference.”
After starting 22 games and finishing last season as UF’s leading goal scorer, Barney began this year on the bench and didn’t play against the Hurricanes until the 28th minute.
While the midfielder eventually worked her way back into the starting unit by logging a team-high four shots on goal during the weekend, nothing is set in stone.
“It’s wiped clean every single year and that’s what drives and motivates our team,” Barney said. “But at the end of the day, it’s all about our team. We want the 11 in there who, at the time, are going to make the most difference and get the [win.]”
Perhaps nowhere else is the team’s depth more pronounced than among the defenders, where at least one player from each class has seen the field.
Led by upperclassmen anchors like senior Jazmyne Avant, redshirt junior Katie Kadera and Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week Kathryn Williamson, the back line has also seen freshman Lauren Silver and sophomore Maggie Rodgers make their first career starts.
“Everybody who’s come in has been awesome. We trust our back line so much and they talk to us and direct us; we couldn’t ask for more,” said junior midfielder Erika Tymrak. “As a whole this year, it’s going to be really exciting to see what we look like.”
Contact John Boothe at jboothe@alligator.org.
Florida soccer coach Becky Burleigh's mother, Nancy, is a breast cancer survivor. Burleigh's mom has also survived three other forms of the disease.
