Florida Soccer Opens Season No. 30 with 2-0 Win vs Western Carolina

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida soccer started Season No. 30 Friday with a 2-0 win over 2023 Southern Conference champion Western Carolina on a perfect evening at the Donald R. Dizney Stadium.

Florida controlled the ball much of the opening half. After several good looks at goal, Florida found the opening score with five minutes left in the half. Delaney Tauzel’s corner kick to the far post found the head of senior Madison Young at 39:54. It was Young’s fourth collegiate goal and first since 2022 season.

The second goal came late in the second half. The play started when Lauren McCloskey’s throw in found Njeri Butts, who had just entered the match. Butts headed toward the endline before sending a cross across the face of the goal. Sophomore transfer Delaney Tellex, playing in her first match as a Gator, one-touched it in at the far post from six yards.

Notes:

* Florida is now 24-3-3 all-time in home openers. Florida Coach Samantha Bohon is now 3-for-3 in home opening matches (2022: 2-1 win vs South Florida; 2023: 2-0 win vs East Carolina).
* Each of Madison Young’s four collegiate goals were off corner kick. Delaney Tauzel got the assist on Young’s last three, including tonight.
* It was a collegiate second for both Delaney Tellex and Njeri Butts on Florida’s second goal. It was Tellex’s second collegiate goal, with her first providing Memphis with the game-winning goal in the 2023 American Athletic Conference Tournament title match. Butts earned her second collegiate assist on the Tellex’s goal, and first since Aug. 27, 2023 win versus Stetson.
* Vera Blom’s start marked the 23rd time in the program’s 30 seasons that a freshman was among the Gators starting lineup. She wasn’t the only newcomer among the Gators starting lineup as transfers Emilee Hauser and Delaney Tellex were among the starting 11.
* Florida split time in goal tonight. Graduate Alexa Goldberg made her 18th consecutive start and recorded two saves. Sophomore Paloma Peña made her first appearance in goal Friday, playing the entirety of the second half and registering two saves.
* 20 shots is the most for Florida since recording 27 in 8-0 win versus Stetson on Aug. 27, 2023
* Florida has scored at least one goal in 28 of its 30 season openers
* Tonight’s attendance of 1,113 is the largest season-opening soccer crowd at Dizney Stadium

Records:
Florida: 1-0-0, 0-0-0 SEC
WCU: 0-1-0, 0-0-0 SoCon

Series Record:
First meeting

What the Gators Said:
On this evening’s winning result:

“I thought we came out with some intensity and created a lot of chances. That was one of our big points of emphasis off of our preseason exhibitions. So that was really exciting, because Western Carolina is a very good team. We have a lot of respect for them. They’re gonna have a great season and they’ve got some really special players.

“It was really exciting for us to see them really kind of swarm and not let them get anything in that first half. We would love to have put away more than one, but we’ll take what we can get. And then in the second half, we got a little casual in some of the instances. Missing the penalty hurt us, because that would have given us a little bit of cushion. But again, you’re not going to keep a good team down for 90 minutes. They got their chances, but I loved our back line. They blocked shots. And then to put that last goal away, you know, Njeri [Butts] is tricky. She’s classy and demure off the sideline, but then when you put her in the game, she just flips her switch. So that was really neat for her to create that opportunity and then slot it across for Tellex.

“It was a good opening game for us and we’re really excited to get going again.” – Florida Head Coach Samantha Bohon

On her first Gator goal”

“Njeri [Butts] came in and she’s a big impact player. I’ve been working on my runs into the box with my coaches, transitioning to a new attack. It was just a great ball by Njeri and an easy finish. It is super fun to play here with this atmosphere. Playing with my teammates gives me so much confidence.” – sophomore transfer Delaney Tellex

Comparing her two collegiate goals:

“This one feels more special. I had a family member pass away this morning, so this definitely is a bit of a special one for me and my family. So this goal was dedicated to my Uncle Steve.” – sophomore Delaney Tellex

On the team’s drive heading into the 2024 season:

“This team, I feel like we’ve been working so hard to rebuild and we’ve been putting in the work non-stop for the past three years. I think finally this year, it’s really paying off. No matter what, every game going forward, we’re really going to show effort no matter what and be giving our all.” – senior Madison Young

Next Up:
Florida makes its first road trip Thursday when it faces North Florida in Jacksonville. The Ospreys opened the 2024 season Thursday with a 1-0 win at Miami and face defending NCAA champion Florida State Sunday in Tallahassee.

North Florida
Date: Thursday, Aug. 22
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Site: Hodges<https://unfospreys.com/facilities/hodges-stadium/4> Stadium
Live Stats<https://unfospreys.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary>
Admission: Free

WCU (0-0, 0-0 SoCon) at Florida (0-0-0, SEC 0-0-0)

Stadium: Donald R. Dizney Stadium (1,113)

Weather: 84 degrees, winds ENE at 8 mph

Goals by Period

Total

WCU

Florida

Scoring Summary:

No.

Time

Team