It wasn’t easy for Annie Speese to pull the trigger on her first open look at goal in a Gators uniform.
As the only freshman to start in both of Florida’s games, the 5-foot-5 midfielder knew she could’ve disturbed the rhythm of the team’s five returning offensive stars, who made up 73 percent of the scoring last season.
“That’s something that’s kind of hard,” Speese said. “Just being a newcomer and still learning the position.”
So she laid back, slipped in deft passes and eventually fed a slick assist to senior forward Tahnai Annis on Sunday against FIU to seal the victory for the No. 8 Gators (2-0-0). At the same time, she won the respect of her new teammates.
“Everyone brings something new to the plate and, for Annie, it’s definitely that she’s really suave, she knows the game,” said junior midfielder McKenzie Barney. “She knows when to pass, when to dribble and when to turn. She just has a really keen outlook on things in a soccer perspective.”
Speese’s cautious, controlled approach serves as a blueprint for No. 18 Texas A&M (1-1-0), Florida’s opponent today at 5:30 p.m. in the first Tennessee Lady Vols Classic. Riddled early in the season by lingering injuries, the Aggies — much like the Gators — have relied heavily on nine of their freshmen to step in and contribute.
But while Florida has been consistent with a pair of 2-0 wins and a shuffle of five new starters, Texas A&M has struggled with its shot selection and offensive discipline.
The talented but mercurial Aggies followed an impressive 4-2 win over Fresno State — all four goals scored by three freshmen — with a hapless 1-0 loss against No. 13 UC Irvine, squandering a 21-5 advantage in shots.
Barney said it’s difficult for any team to remain consistent in college soccer, but the Gators have figured out a good mix between their young players and veterans this season.
“You just have to forget about what happened last week,” she said. “We had some great goals. We’re happy with it, but we have to push it out of our mind and look forward.”
In preparation for tonight’s matchup with Texas A&M and another against an unproven No. 15 UCLA (1-0-0) side on Sunday, UF coach Becky Burleigh said she wanted her team to do a better job holding possession and dictating the pace of the game through the midfield, where Barney and Speese reside.
“I’m not sure we played the best that we can possibly play but that’s probably not necessarily a bad thing either, because it gives us a lot to work on in practice,” Burleigh said. “We don’t want to be in postseason form at this time anyway.”
Contact John Boothe at jboothe@alligator.org.
With a two-game road trip ahead, junior McKenzie Barney (pictured) said midfielder Annie Speese and the rest of the freshmen must forget about last week’s wins.
