GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida soccer earned a gritty 1-0 win over Auburn Thursday evening at the Donald R. Dizney Stadium. The win is notable as Florida is the league’s first program to earn 200 Southeastern Conference wins.
Both teams came into the match looking for the win to move up the ladder toward the 10-team field for the 2023 SEC Tournament in Pensacola, Fla. With the win, Florida is now among a three-way tie for 11th .
This Evening’s Scoring:
With just seconds remaining in the opening half, Lena Bailey’s fourth goal of the season sent the Gators into halftime with a 1-0 advantage and proved to be the game-winner. The Gators were awarded a free kick midway inside the Tiger half. The ball sent in by Daviana Vaka to the six-yard box was challenged by several before Bailey was able to poke it across the line.
The second half had chances for both teams. The Gators backline held steady, with goalkeeper Alexa Goldberg flying high to make a key save on Carly Thatcher’s shot from distance that was heading to the upper far post corner. The final result extends Goldberg’s career season-high solo shutout total to seven for 2023.
SEC Wins Leader
With tonight’s win, Florida became the first with 200 Southeastern Conference wins.
Through 10/19/23 play
Program
W
L
T
%
Season 1
Florida
200
67
21
.731
1995
Texas A&M
77
34
12
.675
2012
Tennessee
164
93
30
.624
1996
South Carolina
144
105
39
.567
1995
Auburn
133
115
35
.532
1993
Vanderbilt
138
122
34
.527
1993
Georgia
134
128
35
.510
1995
Mississippi
122
129
37
.488
1995
Kentucky
118
145
30
.454
1993
Missouri
47
60
15
.447
2012
Arkansas
116
152
24
.438
1993
Alabama
106
155
31
.416
1994
LSU
99
159
39
.399
1995
MSU
59
199
30
.257
1995
Bailey’s Goal No. T7 For Latest Score in First Half
Eleven seconds remaining equals the seventh latest opening half goal in the Gators’ 29 seasons. It is the latest since Savannah Jordan scored with just one second remaining versus Florida Atlantic in 2016.
Florida Soccer’s 10 Latest First Half Goals
Min
Sec
Name
Date
Opponent
Site
44
42
Bianca Gibbs
10/14/05
Mississippi State
A
44
46
Danielle Fotopoulos
11/09/96
Auburn
N
44
49
Tahnai Annis
11/02/11
Georgia
N
44
49
Lena Bailey
10/19/23
Auburn
H
44
50
Erin Baxter
09/11/98
Tennessee
H
44
55
Maggie Rodgers
09/03/10
H
44
57
Lindsay Thompson
11/16/08
Central Florida
H
44
58
Nicky Kit
10/29/10
South Carolina
A
44
59
Savannah Jordan
08/21/16
Florida Atlantic
H
45
0
Lindsay Thompson
09/18/11
Kansas
A
Hear from the Gators:
On tonight’s win:
“Any win is big in the SEC, especially this year. The parody is pretty significant in the SEC so it’s great getting those three extra points going into the last week. We really do take it one game at a time. We don’t look too far in advance of what this means. We just feel like we need to put our head down, do our work and then the rest kind of falls where it may.” – Florida Head Coach Samantha Bohon
On her goal:
Well, I kind of blacked out but one of my teammates hit it out while the goalie was trying to get it. I just kicked it and megged someone. That’s all I can remember.” – freshman Lena Bailey
On her thoughts leading up to her first Gator assist:
“I wasn’t aware of the time until I heard the crowd. So I checked the time and see there’s like 20 seconds left. So I thought ‘I gotta do this and make it really on point.’ I usually kick it back post or a little in front of the six but I just kept it straight towards the keeper, hoping that it would bounce around. It did bounce around and we scored off it.” – senior Daviana Vaka
Records:
Florida: 6-5-4, 2-4-2 SEC
AU: 6-6-4, 2-4-2 SEC
Series Record:
Florida leads 19-10-2
Next Up:
Florida closes regular-season road action in Music City, U.S.A. Vanderbilt and Mississippi State tied 0-0 Thursday evening in Starkville, Miss.
Vanderbilt (8-4-4, 3-4-1 SEC)
Date: Sunday, Oct. 22
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Site: Vanderbilt Soccer Complex<https://vucommodores.com/facilities/vanderbilt-soccer-lacrosse-complex/>
SEC Network +: SEC Network +<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/8520a6fc-8d41-4a38-ab1f-5285e097fc58>
Live Results: StatBroadcast<http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=472132&vislive=fla>
Admission: Free
2023 Florida Soccer Schedule<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-soccer/schedule>
2023 Florida Soccer Promotions<https://floridagators.com/news/2023/8/10/florida-soccer-2023-home-promotions-schedule.aspx>
Auburn (6-6-4, 2-4-2 SEC) at Florida (6-5-4, 2-4-2 SEC)
Stadium: Donald R. Dizney Stadium (661)
Weather: 76 degrees, winds NW at 3 mph
Goals by Period
1
20
Total
Auburn
0
0
0
Florida
1
0
1
Scoring Summary:
No.
Time
Team
Goal Scorer
Assist
1.
44:49
UF
Lena Bailey
Daviana Vaka
Shots: AU 7, UF 11
Saves: AU 3 (Maddie Prohaska 3), Florida 3 (Alexa Goldberg 3)
Offsides: AU 8, UF 1
Cautions: Lauren Donovan-UF/ yellow (86:38)
