GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Goals from a trio of Gators gave Florida a 3-0 win over Kennesaw State on a damp Thursday evening at the Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
Florida outshot the Owls 21-0 Thursday. It was the eighth time in the program’s 30 seasons an opponent recorded no shots, with the last coming just over a year ago in the 1-0 win at UNC-Charlotte (Sept. 7, 2023).
Thursday’s Scoring:
Florida started the scoring in the 11th minute. Freshman Norah Abbott’s square ball across the top of the box was one-touched out by Madison Jones to an open right side of the box. Sophomore Delaney Tellex took the space and hit a right-footed shot from just outside the six-yard box. Her shot hit the crossbar and kicked in for her second goal of the season.
When Njeri Butts was upended in the box by KSU’s Taylor Youmans, the Gators were awarded their second penalty kick of the season. Oakley Rasmussen hit the shot at 42:03 to send the Gators into halftime with a 2-0 advantage.
Scoring started again on the Gators first shot of the second half. Center back Emilee Hauser sent the ball forward into the Owls half. Freshman Vera Blom caught up with the ball just before it passed the touchline and then headed toward goal. She reached the corner of the box, took a couple of touches before sending an 18-yard right footed shot to the far upper corner.
Notables:
* Madison Jones and Norah Abbott each registered their first collegiate assists on the opening goal. The assist came in the freshman Abbott’s second consecutive start. Jones played at Kentucky as a freshman in 2022 and was sidelined in her first season with the Gators in 2023 recovering from a knee injury.
* Emilee Hauser registered her second assist of the season and now shares the team lead with Njeri Butts.
* The penalty kick gives Oakley Rasmussen her first goal of the season and third of her career.
* Blom’s score gives her the Florida season lead with three goals. Her last goal was from 25 yards and tonight’s was an 18-yard shot.
* Florida’s 21 shots set a season high (previous high: 20 versus Western Carolina Aug. 16)
What the Gators Said:
On this evening’s result:
“Unapologetically, we had to get a result tonight. So I think you saw we started pretty high press in the first half. One of our goals was to try and put one in the back of the net in the first 15 of each half and we were able to do that. So that certainly set a tone.
“Anytime you shut out a team and don’t let them have a shot is a huge accomplishment. We really challenged our back line this week because we just felt like we were a little too casual. Tonight you saw a lot better sharpness from our back line. That just trickles all the way up and just kind of sets the tone in the tempo for the rest of the team.
“To have a clean sheet and put three in the back of the net, then that’s a good night for the Gators.” – Florida Head Coach Samantha Bohon
Taking practice lessons out to the pitch:
“In practice we’ve been working on finding those wide channels, connecting to the middle and in this game we successfully accomplished that. It was a team effort [on my goal] and it was kind of cool to put everything we’ve been working on together. It was a great ball by Jonesy [Madison Jones] and then touch in and finish. This was a great night to get a good result.” – sophomore Delaney Tellex
Records:
Florida: 3-1-3, 0-0-0 SEC
Kennesaw State: 0-6-1, 0-0-0 CUSA
Series Record:
Florida leads 2-0-1.
Next Up:
Florida closes its non-conference schedule Sunday at Florida Gulf Coast (1-4, 0-0 ASUN). FGCU lost 2-1 to App State tonight in Fort Myers. The Eagles are the fourth UF opponent so far this season that advanced to 2023 NCAA Tournament action.
at FGCU
Date: Sunday, Sept. 15
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Site: Pickering Field at the FGCU Soccer Complex<https://fgcuathletics.com/facilities/pickering-field-at-the-fgcu-soccer-complex/2> (1,500)
Stream: ESPN +<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/76b77256-1719-4f24-abb4-04203ab1e9a3>
StatBroadcast<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=532008&vislive=fla>
Admission: $10 adult; $8 military/youth (age 4-12)<https://fgcuathletics.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventInfo?ticketCode=GS:ATHLETICS:F24:WS0915:&linkID=fgcu-athletics&dataAccId=748&locale=en_US&siteId=ev_fgcu-athletics>
Kennesaw State (0-6-1, 0-0 CUSA) at Florida (3-1-3, 0-0 SEC)
Stadium: Donald R. Dizney Stadium (367)
Weather: 75 degrees, humid, winds ENE at 6 mph
Goals by Period
1
2
Total
Kennesaw State
0
0
0
Florida
2
1
3
Scoring Summary:
No.
Time
Team
Goal Scorer
Assist
1.
10:54
UF
Delaney Tellex
Madison Jones, Norah Abbott
2.
42:03
UF
Oakley Rasmussen
Penalty Kick
3.
47:47
UF
Vera Blom
Emilee Hauser
Shots: Kennesaw State 0, Florida 21
Saves: KSU 6 (Caroline Wehr 4; Aryana Rosenblum 2); Florida 0 (Alexa Goldberg 0; Jayden Emmanuel 0)
Offsides: KSU 5, UF 2
Cautions: Emilee Hauser-UF/yellow (89:27)
