As its first month of the season comes to a close, Florida sits at 5-2 on the year and is ranked No. 7 in the national polls.
It has a win over then-No. 2 Florida State and an overtime loss to No. 4 Stanford notched under its belt, not to mention a streak of six straight away games that comes to an end tonight in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The Gators open their Southeastern Conference schedule when they face the Crimson Tide (4-2-1) at 8 p.m. at the Alabama Soccer Stadium. This will be the second straight year that Florida and Alabama will be opening conference play against each other.
Coach Becky Burleigh said that conference play is far more different than facing non-conference opponents because teams like Alabama are so familiar with how Florida plays.
There are no secrets.
"It’s just a whole different animal when it comes to SEC," Burleigh said. "The rivalries and the familiarity make it a lot more personal."
When the Gators and the Crimson Tide met last season, Florida’s freshmen led the way to a 3-0 victory in Gainesville.
But teams change every season, and Alabama is looking to return the favor this year in Tuscaloosa.
Florida will be the second ranked opponent Alabama plays this season. The Tide fell 3-0 to then-No. 3 Virginia on Sept. 5.
"I really respect Alabama’s attack, I think they’ve got some really good personality players," Burleigh said. "We’ll have our work cut out for us. We’ve lost there before, so it’s definitely something that we don’t take for granted, especially as an opener."
One weapon Florida has that Alabama does not is Savannah Jordan, who scored twice against the Crimson Tide last year.
The sophomore leads the Gators with five goals this season and looks forward to continuing to contribute to the team, whether she’s scoring goals or not.
"I think they’ll (SEC opponents) be aware that I scored goals last year, but to me it’s not really my focus," Jordan said. "I’m worried about helping our team win."
Alabama has an offensive weapon of its own in senior midfielder Theresa Diederich, who has a team-best 12 points by scoring four goals and recording four assists. Alabama has scored 17 goals so far this season while Florida has scored 16.
One player who will be key for Florida tonight as she has been all season is senior Tessa Andujar.
The San Clemente, Calif., native leads the Gators with four assists this year and was deemed "unstoppable" by Burleigh in Florida’s game against Stanford for her ability to play balls in and create scoring opportunities.
"I think we’re really excited to start SEC play," Andujar said. "Every game is different and every year is different and everybody gives it all they’ve got, so I’m excited to see what Alabama has to bring."
Follow Alex Maminakis on Twitter @alexmaminakis
Junior Tessa Andujar celebrates her first goal of the season during Florida's 2-0 win against Jacksonville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at James G. Pressly Stadium.
