The Mississippi State University Women’s soccer team will travel to face arguably its toughest opponent of the season Friday, when it heads to Gainesville, Florda to battle with the No. 5 Florida Gators. The Bulldogs will look to pull the upset and end a current five-game losing streak. The Bulldogs have yet to win a game in the SEC this season. The task will be a tall one, as the Gators are undefeated in the SEC and are looking to put themselves in the discussion as being the best team in the country.   
While the odds are stacked against the Bulldogs’ favor, head coach Aaron Gordon likes the idea of there being no pressure on his young team and thinks anything can happen. 
“It’s a great test for us, and there’s certainly no pressure on us. I would say that Florida wanting to get a result or having to get a result for all the reasons they’re looking for, which is hosting in the NCAAs and  all of those things, means that the pressure is always going to be on them,” he said.
The Florida Gators have run off six consecutive victories to open up their SEC slate and find themselves first in the SEC standings as well. Overall on the season, the Gators are 10-2 with their only losses coming on the road against Oklahoma and Stanford, who presently hold the No. 1 ranking in the nation. They have outscored their opponents 27-8 on the season and have proven to be one of the best defensive teams in the nation as well. 
   Looking into the stats for Florida can be rather misleading, as they paint a very different picture of what you would assume to be the case about this Gator team. They rank in the bottom half of the SEC in some key offensive stats, including shots per game and shots on goal.  However, while their season total of 145 shots is the third-lowest in the SEC, they also lead the SEC in shot percentage, which indicates the percentage of a team’s shots lead to goals. Florida’s shot percentage of roughly 16.5 percent expresses the fact that the Gator offense is highly efficient with its scoring chances. 
Gordon describes the Gators’ style of play as being very patient and meticulous, as they have no problem slowly building up their attacks through a series of passing movements through all the major areas on the field.   
“The thing with Florida is that they are one of the most talented teams in the country in terms of ball possession and passing the ball. They’re not like your typical team shooting all over the place. There’s a real concerted effort to get quality shots,” Gordon said. 
Starting on the defensive side of the field, Florida starts three seniors and two juniors, including keeper Taylor Burke. They are a very seasoned group who serve as the leaders for this Florida Gator team. In particular, Burke and right back Tessa Andujar have both had terrific seasons up to this point. Burke ranks second in the SEC in both save percentage and goals against average, and she has played one less game than the keeper who currently stands in first.  In highlighting some key players for Florida on offense, it’s hard to start with anyone other than sophomore forward Savannah Jordan, who was awarded the SEC Offensive Player of the Week. On the season she has nine goals, three assists and a total of 21 points for the Gators, which is the most of anyone on her team The Bulldogs will need to keep an eye on Jordan if they want to stay close come Friday. 
One other player to point out on offense is senior midfielder Havana Solaun, who           was selected to the All-SEC First Team last season and also served as co-captain for her team as well. She has been a steady presence for the Gators this season as she has appeared in every game this season. She ranks third in points for the Gators and second in assists, and plays a key role in helping to ignite the lethal passing attacking. 
The Bulldogs, they will be helped by getting defender Kayleigh Henry back from suspension, as well as forward Morgan Ferrera. Keeper Rhylee DeCrane will continue to start in goal, while Tanya De Souza nurses her injured leg for the time being. If the Bulldogs are going to be able to hang with the Gators on Sunday, they will need to clean up things on the defensive side of the field where they have been shaky over the last couple of matches. They currently rank in the bottom half of the league in shots allowed and goals allowed and haven ot recorded a shutout since September. 
Starting center back Darbi Filliben said the emphasis at practice has been on cleaning up some reoccurring defensive miscues and working on a new formation.   
“We’re just working on changing our formation around a little and just try and lock it down to get the basics of how were going to play defensively, so that we can get our shape as well as our control together,” she said.   
The Bulldogs’ last game against Georgia saw the offense break out of its ongoing funk, as Shannen Jainudeen ended the team’s four-game goal-less drought. Along with this, they attempted six shots on goal and were unlucky not to score more than one goal in the match. The Bulldogs will hope they can build off this going into the game on Friday.
Freshman standout Mallory Eubanks said she believes everyone on the team will need to fill their role to have a successful showing on Friday.   
“Florida’s a really good team, but I think that if we all do our part and play hard we will have a chance like always,” she said. 
  The action gets underway at 6 p.m. Friday, and for anyone looking to watch the game from Starkville, it will be available on SEC Network + and available via the WatchESPN app.