While some college soccer coaches may thrive on motivating their players to run through a brick wall for the cause, Becky Burleigh and her staff at Florida have found something along the lines of “Serenity Now” to be a far more effective battle cry.

Taylor Burke

With apologies for the Seinfeld reference, Florida is getting the most out of a calm, cool and collected possession approach to the game. A loss at Alabama last Friday broke a streak of 9 straight matches from which the Gators emerged victorious. The team rebounded with an impressive 4-0 win at Vanderbilt Sunday and if it wins Thursday’s regular season finale at South Carolina, the Gators will be regular season champions of the SEC again.

Currently, 13-4-1 overall and 10-2 in conference play, the Gators were 3-3-1 following a loss at Kentucky on Sept. 14. Burleigh said that match provided a key turning point to her team’s season.

“We hadn’t played anyone to that point that was a numbers behind the ball team,” the 18th-year coach said. “We needed to be reminded about how to deal with that. Since then we have done a better job of breaking down teams that mainly look to counter. We learned we had to be a bit sharper.”

“Sharper,” as in winning 10 of the next 11 matches by a combined score of 29-8. The Gators thrive on a precise, cultured passing game.

“We believe in letting the ball do the work. We use ProZone (tactical and statistical service) and we are averaging around 450 passes per game. We’ve hit as high as 600. Our opponents are averaging 250,” Burleigh said. “You have to stay confident to play like this. You need real composure. So we don’t push for a rah-rah-run-through-a-brick-wall mentality like most of college soccer. At halftime our speech is more likely to be ‘Take a deep breath. Get your composure back’ and not “Play harder. Get going.’ We’re looking for the total opposite of that.”

None of which should be confused for a lack of intensity among the Gator squad.

Holly King

“We have a great senior class. It took a big hit when Kat Williamson went out, but the seniors have strong, leadership personalities on and off the field,” she said. “Another thing we have is balance. “Back in the day with Danielle Fotopoulos or Abby Wambach we might have had someone score 30 goals, but I don’t think there are too many of those players anymore. We have a number of players who have scored 4, 5 or 6 goals, and if a team wants to focus on, say, Erika Tymrak (leading scorer), they do so at their own peril.

“This also helps us because competition is really high at practice,” she added. “Nobody can take a day off or they take a chance of losing their position.”

Players who have scored 3 goals or more so far this season include Erika Tymrak, Jo Dragotta, Havana Solaun, Mckenzie Barney, Holly King, Annie Speese, Adriana Leon and Jillian Graff. Defensive standouts include Taylor Travis, Christen Westphal, Katrina Gutsche, Tessa Andujar, Lauren Silver and Annie Bobbitt. Sophomore goalkeeper Taylor Burke, the defending SEC champion in the high jump, has impressed as well.

Burleigh credits her coaching staff with helping construct the team’s approach. Pete Davis works with goalkeepers, while Alan Kirkup oversees the offense and associate head coach Vic Campbell manages the defensive effort. Burleigh explains that the Kirkup and Campbell don’t just work with certain positions, but that Kirkup will guide the entire team in offensive duties, with Campbell guiding a team defensive approach.

In the end, Burleigh reminds that the team has to do the work on the field.

“I really respect the way this team has embraced the challenge,” to play this kind of game,” she said. “It’s way easier to just get fired up and focus on being destructi.ve, but we’re working to be constructive with how we play.”

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