Dylan Glass and Wes Whitt, two freshmen on the men’s soccer team, were just looking to crack the starting 11 lineup during training. Now the two are leading the team in goals.

With 20 returning players – eight of them starters, and the fact that freshmen don't see much playing time – Glass and Whitt did not have expectations of becoming the top two scoring players for the Gators.

Scoring amongst themselves is a different story though, according to Glass, 18, history major.

“We’ve always had a little competition going to see who can get the most goals,” Glass said.

Glass, who plays forward, leads the team with four goals, and Whitt, along with junior midfielder/forward Casey Poston, is right on his tail with three. Two other Gators have scored goals, and four have scored one goal.

“We’re freshmen, everybody’s older than us, why not push each other," Whitt, 18, undeclared, said. "We want to make an impact.”

Defender George Nixon, junior, for the Gators, noticed the impact these freshmen have had on the team.

Nixon said the scoring these two players have done definitely raises the level of play and that he sees some of the older guys working harder now.

“It makes it more competitive for sure, with these young guys coming in here and setting an example for everybody else,” Nixon, 20, said.

Midfielder Shawn Granger, junior, thinks the scoring done by Glass and Whitt is good for the future of the team.

“They’re already scoring now, and they have three years after this,” Granger, 22, said.

Glass and Whitt both admit to feeling more pressure because the team now looks at them to score, and often expect it out of them.

“At first you have nothing to lose," Glass said. "Nobody is expecting anything from you, but when you start scoring goals people look at you like you’re that guy.”

Opposing teams now key on Glass and Whitt by putting their best defenders on them to try and get them out of their game, whether it’s by fouling, or at least keeping the ball away.

“I love it. I feed off of it, whenever we play a team, I want a team to worry about me," Whitt said. "The thought that you know a team is looking out for you is a confidence builder. It’s all about confidence.”

Glass and Whitt agreed that this is only the first year with three more to go.

“They just come out and work hard everyday and it shows when they play,” Granger said. “If they keep coming out and working hard, they’re going to do good for themselves.”