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Trio Helping Gators Make Deep NCAA Soccer Run

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By JOEY JOHNSTON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 24, 2007

Tonight at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum - site of the first Super Bowl, the Olympic Games (1932 and 1984), plus countless classic college football games - the University of Florida women's soccer team hopes to create some memories of its own.

"I guess there's an easy way to say it," Gators defender Shana Hudson said. "We don't want it to end. Not until we win a national championship."

The Gators (17-4-3), riding a 14-match winning streak, meet the USC Trojans (16-3-2) in tonight's NCAA Tournament round of 16. No one would have predicted this as October began, when the Gators stood at 4-4-2 (and last in the SEC) after dropping consecutive league games.

Florida coach Becky Burleigh credited her senior leaders for the turnaround. Three of UF's four captains - forward Stacy Bishop (Land O' Lakes), defender/midfielder Shelley Lyle (The Cambridge School) and Hudson (East Lake) - are from the Tampa Bay area.

Lyle and Hudson were pre-teens when they first met, playing on the same club team. Bishop's team was a frequent opponent.

Somehow, they all wound up together.

Bishop initially chose LSU over Florida, then transferred after two seasons. She was a third-team All-American last season and a first-team All-SEC selection. Three weeks ago, she was MVP of the SEC Tournament. She has scored 10 goals in UF's past 16 matches.

Lyle went to Virginia Commonwealth for two seasons before seeking a higher level of competition. Now she is part of a UF back line that has 14 shutouts and a school-record 625 scoreless minutes.

Hudson was there all along.

"We have become very close," Bishop said. "Our families are close, too.

"I think that kind of familiarity helps you, especially when there is some adversity. We have really come together, peaking at the right time."

"We know what is at stake," Lyle said. "One more loss, and we're out. It will be the last time we play college soccer. So it's very serious now. We don't want any regrets."

That's natural at Florida, which won a national title in 1998, and reached the College Cup Final Four on two other occasions.

"We're going to look back on so many great things this season, and we would really like to look back on a national championship," Hudson said. "There's also so much we'll miss, all the bus rides, the locker-room talks, the way we all came together for one cause. When you're a senior, you want it to be the best season you've ever had."

So far, so good.

ODDS AND ENDS: William and Mary goalkeeper Andrew McAdams (Berkeley Prep) made the Colonial Athletic Association's all-rookie team in men's soccer. McAdams started the season's final 18 games and had a goals-against average of 0.87, along with 96 saves and seven shutouts. Earlier this season, McAdams was named CAA rookie of the week after allowing just one goal in 220 minutes against ACC opponents North Carolina and Virginia Tech. McAdams made a penalty-kick stop in the second overtime during a 0-0 tie with North Carolina. ... WR Reche Caldwell (Jefferson) returns to his hometown for the first time as an NFL player on Sunday when the Redskins face the Bucs at Raymond James Stadium, but it's not known how much action he will receive (if any). Caldwell has played in just three games this season after catching 61 passes last year for New England. ... Bethune-Cookman University LB Ronnie McCullough (Hillsborough) finished with 149 tackles to tie Towson LB Brian Bradford for the national lead in Division I-AA, although McCullough (who played 10 games, one fewer than Bradford) had the higher per-game average at 14.9.

Reporter Joey Johnston can be reached at (813) 259-7353 or jjohnston@tampatrib.com.

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