GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida soccer (3-1-4, 0-0 SEC) jumps into Southeastern Conference action with a pair of road matches versus undefeated teams.
There are four Division I undefeated teams remaining as of Sept. 15 and Florida meets half of those programs to open league action.
* Kentucky at 8-0 is off to its best start since opening at 7-0 in 2011. Kentucky is No. 20 in the United Soccer Coaches latest poll.
* Auburn is also 8-0 for the Tigers best start since opening the 2018 season with nine consecutive wins and unbeaten in first 10 matches. Auburn and Oklahoma State are the only two teams in the nation yet to concede a goal this season.
Through Sept. 15, 20 teams are unbeaten (includes ties). UF’s already faced one of those programs (3-0 loss to then No. 3 Florida State on Sept. 8) and meets two more in its SEC opening matches – at No. 20 Kentucky and at No. 6 Auburn. Three more – South Carolina, No. 11 Texas and Vanderbilt – are on Florida’s October schedule. The SEC leads all with six unbeaten teams as of Sept. 15 (Big Ten next with three).
Florida is 18-9-2 in SEC road openers and 3-3 when opening league play on the road versus a ranked opponent.
2024 Florida Season Stats<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-soccer/stats>
at No. 20 Kentucky (8-0, 0-0 SEC)
Date: Thursday, Sept. 19
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Site: Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex<https://ukathletics.com/facilities/soccer-complex/> (3,368)
Stream: SEC Network +<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/96443a57-d962-4334-8e37-95070ccbd948>
StatBroadcast<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=532453&vislive=fla>
Admission: $10 adult; $7 seniors / youth (age 6-8)<https://ukathletics.com/ticketing/soccer/>
at No. 6 Auburn (8-0, 0-0 SEC)
Date: Sunday, Sept. 22
Time: 3 p.m. ET
Site: Auburn Soccer Complex<https://auburntigers.com/auburn-soccer-complex> (1,500)
Stream: SEC Network +<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/4d762e7d-3da0-4538-a826-df5e8572d228>
StatBroadcast<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=531375>
Admission: Free
Florida Close Non-Conference Play with Win & Tie
Goals from a trio of Gators earned a 3-0 win over Kennesaw State Thursday 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).
The Gators accomplished Thursday’s pre-match goal of scoring in the opening 15 minutes of each half. Sophomore transfer Delaney Tellex put in Madison Jones’ cross off the crossbar in the 11th minute to start the evening’s scoring.
When Njeri Butts was upended in the box, 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 in the 48th minute when freshman Vera Blom hit an 18-yard right footed shot. She now leads UF with three 2024 goals.
Sunday, Florida closed non-conference play with a scoreless tie at Florida Gulf Coast. The Gators outshot the Eagles 16-4 but couldn’t find the scoring touch.
It was UF’s fifth shutout and the third time UF didn’t score in a 2024 match. Only three other teams (Drake, FDU and Abilene Christian – 5 each) have more ties than the Gators (4) this season.
About No. 20 Kentucky:
Kentucky turned in a 9-4-6 record and its 3-3-4 record placed seventh in the Southeastern Conference in 2023.
Graduate transfer Makala Woods leads the Wildcats in 2024 with four goals and nine points. Three – Thalia Morisi, Anna Sikorski and Grace Philpotts – share UK’s assist lead with two each. Graduate Marz Josephson has started each match and is No. 15 in the nation with a goals-against-average of 0.27.
Troy Fabiano is in his third season as Kentucky’s head coach.
About No. 6 Auburn:
Auburn turned in a 8-7-5 record and its 3-4-3 record T8th in the Southeastern Conference. As of Sept. 15, 2024, Auburn and Oklahoma State are the last two teams in NCAA Division I not to allow any opponent goals.
Sophomore Olivia Woodson leads the Tigers in 2024 with six goals and 14 points. Sophomore Maddie Prohaska has started each of Auburn’s eight matches and is one of three to lead the nation with a 0.00 goals-against-average. Her career total of 32 career shutouts is one away from AU’s program record.
Karen Hoppa has led Auburn since the 1999 season. She entered the 2024 season No. 19 among winningest active Division I coaches with 344 wins.
