Georgia Bulldog soccer team faces big weekend challenge.

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The No. 22 Georgia Bulldog soccer team (6-1-1, 1-0-1) has rolled through the opening month of the season. This weekend we will find out if the team is contender or pretender.

The team puts a number 22 national ranking on the line when it travels to meet number 7 Florida tonight (Friday) at 7 p.m. in Gainesville and number 14 South Carolina on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Columbia.

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Last Sunday, the Bulldogs stormed back from a 1 – 0 first half deficit with three second-half tallies to defeat Vanderbilt .

The 2014 Bulldogs are no fluke. They return six regular starters and 17 letter winners from last season’s squad, including leading goal-scorer and All-South Region performer Marion Crowder. And of the 13 newcomers – five played for their respective country’s youth national team in Mariel Gutierrez (Mexico U-20), Louise Hogrell (Sweden U-19), Eli Martinez (Honduras U-20), Shayna Raekelboom (Belgium U-19), and Becca Rasmussen (United States U-18).

To keep its run going, Georgia will have to gain its first win in program history in Gainesville. The Bulldogs are 2-25-1 all-time against. The Bulldogs last defeated the Gators in the SEC Tournament in 2008.

The Gators enter the weekend with a record of 6-2 overall and ranked No. 7 in the nation, coming off a 2-1 win over Alabama to kick off SEC play last weekend.

South Carolina presents no less a challenge, entering the weekend 8-1 overall and 1-0 in league play. The Gamecocks are ranked No. 14 this week.

Georgia is 14-6-3 all-time in the series, and met South Carolina twice in 2013. The Bulldogs earned a 2-0 win during the regular season in Athens, before the Gamecocks responded to beat UGA 4-0 in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.

A win this weekend make’s the Soccer Dawgs contenders. A sweep and this team could have a special season.