Florida / Wake Forest Region Women's Soccer Tournament Breakdowns
There is a lot of talent in this group. Florida and Wake Forest are the seeded teams, but there is a lot of recent tournament success coming from teams like UCF and Notre Dame. Of course it was just last year that the Knights reached the quarterfinals where they lost to Wake Forest. This year they hope to run into the Demon Deacons a round earlier. The Irish hope to get back to their old ways and reach the College Cup, but this is a tough, tough road.
#2 Florida vs. Florida Gulf Coast
Florida is one of the hottest teams in the country heading into the 2012 NCAA Tournament. They have won 14 of their last 15 games. They also just finished cruising through the SEC tournament, outscoring Mississippi, Missouri and Auburn by a combined score of 8-1. Florida Gulf Coast lost to the Gators in the first round last season and have a solid defense, but they should be no match for McKenzie Barney, Erika Tymra, Jo Dragoota, Havana Solaun and company.
UCF vs. Miami
Miami finally won a game in the NCAA Tournament last year. Taking the next step will prove to be difficult with UCF standing in the way. The Knights made a great run last season, knocking off Florida and North Carolina en route to the quarterfinals. Much of this team has a lot of tournament experience. The Knights also boast a superb defense led by goalkeeper Lianna Maldonado. Miami will try and counter UCF with a solid defense of their own, but the Hurricanes have to find a way to put the ball in the back of the net.
Notre Dame vs. Milwaukee
Milwaukee scored a lot of goals during Horizon League play, but they have not seen a defense like Notre Dame’s. Of course, Milwaukee has been here before and has had some success in the first round. Last year they beat Illinois State. In 2005 and 2006 they also won first round games. The Irish are a very talented team, but they are pretty young too. Freshmen like Elizabeth Tucker, Cari Roccaro, Crystal Thomas and Katie Naughton play important roles on this team. There are also a couple underclassmen in-between the posts. If Notre Dame is going to lose, it will be because of that inexperience.
#3 Wake Forest vs. Georgia Southern
Georgia Southern was the Cinderella of tournament week. Despite a 4-6-1 record in Southern Conference play, the Eagles won their conference tournament. GSU will hope to keep their Cinderella story going, but that will be a very tough task against Wake Forest. For Georgia Southern, just getting this far is what it is all about. Yet, they do play good defense so the Eagles could make things interesting for a little while against the very talented Demon Deacons squad.
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