No. 1 Titans ready for No. 2 Butler Friday night

No. 1 vs. No. 2. It doesn't get much bigger than Friday night at Titan Soccer Complex as the No. 1 ranked Eastern Florida State College women's soccer team opens the regular season against No. 2 Butler Community College.

The Titans will have plenty of new faces from the squad that finished runner-up in the nation last season and are ready to begin a new season Friday night.

"I think the girls have been sharp this week, we are prepared, fit and ready to go," Eastern Florida State College women's soccer coach Jeff Carr said. "They have a great program and it will be a test right away. We are missing a couple of players with injuries so we will see who steps up. A great challenge right away."

Butler Community College made it to the NJCAA National semifinals last season and comes in as the No. 2 team in the country despite opening with a loss earlier this week.

"It's a super, super, super intense week when you know the No. 2 team in the country is coming to town, but it's a great way to start the season," sophomore Jay Bales said.

Teammate and sophomore Paula Astiazaran agrees it is a nice way to start the season.

"It is always good to play great teams early so we know how good we are," Astiazaran said. "We have to come in prepared to get this win. It's important for us to start the season the way we are supposed to start."

The schedule doesn't get much easier for the Titans who will host No. 13 Johnson County Community College Sept. 2 kicking off a big weekend of soccer games at Titan Soccer Complex as both the men and women's teams will be in action.

Kickoff Friday night is at 7 p.m. and admission is free.