GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Danielle Fotopoulos and Samantha Baggett had been friends and teammates for several years, but on Nov. 3, 1996, they were opponents locked in a ferocious battle on a soccer field in Durham, N.C. Fotopoulos, the Orlando product and forward for Florida's second-year program, was one of the nation's most prolific goal-scorers. Baggett, out of Daytona Beach, Fla., was a standout and speedy defender for Duke.
All the club practices, the middle-school travel team games, the rides up and down Interstate-4 — even Baggett's weekend as a bridesmaid in the 20-year-old Fotopoulos' wedding a few months earlier — meant absolutely nothing as the No. 9 Gators and Blue Devils did battle that Sunday afternoon.
That became painfully clear (for one more than the other) when Fotopoulos, in a scoreless game, executed an open-field tackle (the legal kind) on Baggett that sent her Blue Devil buddy spilling to the turf and writhing in pain with an ankle injury. The game was stopped, Baggett was helped off the field and eventually returned to watch the remaining minutes from the sidelines on crutches.
Duke prevailed 1-0.
"I remember being so mad after the game," Fotopoulos recalled. "I was still angry that we'd lost, but when I finally saw Sam, saw her on crutches, I told her, 'I'm so sorry.' She was like, 'I don't care. We won.' "
Fotopoulos and Baggett have relived and retold that anecdote throughout the last quarter century-plus, be it during their time together on the U.S. National Team, as their families grew and careers took their turns, and eventually as coaching rivals the last six years in the Sunshine State Conference. On Monday, it became as topical as ever when Fotopoulos, one of the greatest players in Florida history and author of the program's all-time signature moment, was in attendance at the press conference inside UF's sparkling new soccer complex announcing her longtime friend — now Samantha Bohon, by way of Division II Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University— as the third coach in Gators history.
"I'm ecstatic about it," Fotopoulos said.
Bohon, 45, replaces Tony Amato, who last month parted ways with the program after just one season.
UF athletic director Scott Stricklin didn't need a reference from Fotopoulos to hone in on Bohon. Her name actually came up last year when the Gators went looking for a replacement for icon Becky Burleigh, the founder of the UF program who retired after 26 seasons following the 2021 campaign.
In April of '21, the timing wasn't right for Bohon. In May of '22, when the call came out of nowhere, the timing was better.
"We were making our plans for the summer, then things took a turn," Bohon said.
A significant one.
"Florida soccer. I've played against it, coached against it and lived in the state for more than 30 years of my life, so I am acutely aware of both the tradition and potential of this program, and that's what excites me the most," Bohon said. "I get to work for wonderful people at a university that offers an incredible student-athlete experience, and we would like to make the soccer program part of that experience."
Bohon went 157-72-14 in 15 seasons at Embry-Riddle, along the way shepherding the Eagles program from the NAIA to D-II level in 2015. She went to eight straight NAIA postseason tournaments, and in just the third season captured the Sunshine State tournament and title and reached the round of 16 in NCAA play.
Her teams have a stellar track record in the classroom, but there's another statistic — an unofficial one — that is pretty stunning in this era of collegiate sports: No player in Bohon's 15 seasons as a head coach has ever left the program to transfer to another.
That speaks to culture and connectivity.
"She comes across in a way that makes it apparent she's really good with the relationship piece," Stricklin said. "We did background with former players and co-workers, and even got feedback from other athletes at Embry-Riddle with how she was perceived in that department. It was all very positive. She is leaving a place where she was very well respected."
And trading it in for a place that will now be dealing with a second consecutive offseason of transition. When UF announced its decision to move on from Amato last month, Stricklin cited a "disconnect" between the coach and the players.
So her first job will establishing a connection.
"I'm just going to try to let them get to know me authentically and earnestly, so that then we can build some trust into my intentions and methods," Bohon said. "I understand the situation. It's unfortunate. I told [the search committee] during my Zoom interview, 'I'm sorry, in some ways, that I'm here,' because obviously you wouldn't want that for either party."
Added Stricklin: "You can tell she's a competitive person who channels that in a positive way. She's sharp and has a great way, a great demeanor, about her. She has a gift of making people instantly comfortable. With the players, I think she'll have the initial warmth you need in order to start a relationship that can be based on trust."
Her mother, Dana, was a four-time tennis state champion at Seabreeze High, while father, Laurence, played multiple sports there as well. Naturally, young Samantha followed suit by excelling on the tennis courts, golf courses and, of course, soccer fields of Volusia County. Bohon's early track appeared to be tennis, where she ascended to a top-20 ranking in the state. She was good enough to be trained at the prestigious Bollettieri Tennis Academy (now known as IMG), where she partnered on the doubles court with Jennifer Capriati.
In time, though, the commitment to tennis proved too much, and soccer became her sport of choice. Bohon was so much better than other girls in her age group that she was placed on a boys club team before the Orlando area formed a program for elite girl players in Central Florida. Not only was she an area superstar, but the 1994 Orlando Sentinel Soccer Player of the Year was invited to train with the U.S. Under-20 team in California the summer bridging her senior year at Seabreeze and freshman season at Duke.
"She has intelligence and skill and dedication," then-Seabreeze coach Linda Dodson said at the time. "If there's something she can't do, she's dedicated enough to go out and learn how to do it."
But there wasn't much Bohon couldn't do when it came to soccer.
"The experience with the national team was wonderful, but I realized during my time there I didn't just want to be a soccer player," Bohon said.
She went to grad school at North Carolina and completed work toward a masters in sports administration in 2001, which helped lead to a full-time soccer assistant post at Tennessee. In just her second year — and with recruiting coordinator duties on Bohon's plate — the Volunteers won their first Southeastern Conference title, a milestone that led to some head-coach feelers (and offers) from high-major programs.
Soccer, though, was not Bohon's No. 1 priority at the time. Marriage and family were.
She left UT after four years to return to Daytona for a family venture, but that was when the family and soccer stars aligned. The Embry-Riddle job opened and the situation (and setting) was too perfect. That was in 2007. Under Bohon, the Eagles became an annual contender in the NAIA national tournament.
"She had high-major pedigree as a player at Duke and assistant at Tennessee, but Samantha really perfected her coaching during her time at Embry-Riddle," Stricklin said.
In 2015, ERAU joined the D-11 Sunshine State Conference, which meant facing league foe Eckerd — and Fotopoulos, that program's coach — once a year. Bohon went 5-1 in those meetings (with no ankle injuries).
Now married with three children, the opportunity just two hours from her Daytona roots was too good to pass up.
"Honestly, I was in a really good place in my career, had just finished my 21st season [as a coach], and was just really appreciative of the experiences I've had. There weren't many openings that would have taken me from my current situation," Bohon said. "But when Florida calls, you pick up the phone."
Like she once was.
Fotopoulos, meanwhile, is thrilled for her friend, but also for the program she not only loves, but helped guide to the 1998 NCAA title by scoring the lone goal in a shocking 1-0 upset of No. 1 North Carolina, winner of 10 of the previous 11 national championships, in what was just the fourth season of the Gators' existence.
"She is one of the best humans I know. She has faith, family, support around her and I know is humble enough to say she leans on that for her support and strength," Fotopoulos said. "Her program is going to be organized, fun, everything that you want, with involvement in the Gator community and Gator Nation and Gator alumni. On the field, they will be organized and fit. She's been able to recruit all over the world. She pays close attention to detail within the pulse of the team and will use and consume all the resources given to her to have the best experience for the players and the student-athlete."
The resources, starting with the recently completed $7.4 million, 13,800 square foot soccer complex, will be plentiful. The roster is a different story.
Bohon inherits a team that went 4-12-4 overall in 2021 (the worst in program history), including a 3-6-1 mark in SEC play, giving UF its first back-to-back losing seasons in program's 27-year lore. So there's work to do.
On the field, the Bohon-led Gators will play a possession-based brand of soccer, but also will be flexible relative to her players' skill sets. Those conversations are for another day, though.
The trust-building begins now.
"In the short-term there are two traits that I value, and it all starts with a student-person-player model," Bohon said. "The expectation is to develop all three of those, and to be a blue-collar, hard-working team that is grateful and will be connected."
The Gators believe they've found the right person — this time, at that right time — to right the program's culture.
And she was right down the turnpike all along.
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For Bohon, This Time Was Right Time - Florida Gators
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