After snapping their 10-game unbeaten streak with a loss to Mississippi State Sunday, the No. 20 Tigers will face one of their most challenging opponents Friday, the No. 9 Florida Gators.
"They're consistently the best team in the league," said senior midfielder Katy Frierson. "It's exciting that this is the team we'll play after such a disappointing loss."
The Tigers are preparing accordingly for a bigger game with a challenging atmosphere.
"Gainesville is a very tough place to play because their field is smaller than most of the fields we play on," said coach Karen Hoppa.
Preparation for this game will start with intense practices and trying to use the loss against Mississippi State as motivation, Hoppa said.
"The coaches are working to get some good game plans ready, and we'll have some good practices, but ultimately we still have it in the palm of our hands," said senior defender Julie King.
"It's up to us what we want to do. The past is the past, and we're just looking to focus on what we can control."
The Tigers will need to give it their all against Florida, King said.
"A team like Florida requires us to execute our strategies for the full 90 minutes or they'll get up on us on the scoreboard," King said.
"We're prepared to execute our game plan and have some good practices ahead of us this week to make sure we play to our full potential on Friday."
The Tigers play the No. 9 Florida Gators Oct. 7 in Gainesville, Fla.
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