Florida Soccer Upsets No. 22 Texas 2-1

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The first two collegiate goals by senior Lauren Donovan gave Florida the needed margin in its 2-1 upset over No. 22 Texas.

The Gators opened Southeastern Conference home action Friday evening in front of a boisterous Donald R. Dizney Stadium record soccer crowd of 1,412.

Friday’s Scoring:
Donovan’s first collegiate goal gave the Gators an early lead. Vera Blom’s corner kick to the near post was headed in by Donovan in the second minute. It was the earliest Gator goal this season.

Donovan made it a brace in the 66th minute. The play started when Lena Bailey sent a centering ball to the middle of the box. The ball bounced around and came off a Texas defender right to Donovan at the far upper corner of the box. She settled the ball before sending a right-footed scoring shot to the far post corner.

Texas was awarded a penalty kick in the 52nd minute but Lexi Missimo’s shot kicked off the crossbar.

The Longhorns cut the lead in half in the 78th minute soon after a short shower started at Dizney Stadium. Jilly Shimkin’s centering ball to Missimo was quickly touched out wide for Amalia Villarreal. She caught up with the ball and took a few touches as she entered the top of the box. Villarreal’s right-footed shot scored at the far corner.

Did You Know?

* Donovan’s goal at 1:25 is the 11th quickest in Florida’s 30 seasons.
* Donovan is the 21st Gator to turn in multiple goals in the match with their first Gator goal.
* Florida spoiled the Longhorns first visit to Dizney Stadium as a SEC member with the 2-1 win. Texas and Florida tied 1-1 when the programs met for the first time at The Diz in 2021.
* Friday’s result at The Diz was the third ranked league opponent to lose or tie around the SEC this evening. No. 1 Arkansas lost 1-0 at No. 7 Mississippi State and No. 24 South Carolina and Vanderbilt tied 1-all in Nashville.
* Florida Coach Bohon claims her first top-25 win as the Gator coach.
* This was Florida’s fourth match this season versus a top-25 opponent (1-2-1 in 2024 vs top 25 teams). Four ranked opponents through Oct. 4 play leads all SEC programs.

What the Gators Said:
On tonight’s win:
“This was due as we’ve been playing pretty well all season. We’ve just not had a lot of bounces go our way. So we were excited to get back home. It really does make a difference for us when we have Gator Nation behind us as another record crowd showed up tonight.

“I just was really proud of the resiliency of our team. The first half looked a little bit differently than the second half and we just found a way to manage to get to win tonight.”- Florida Head Coach Samantha Bohon

On her first collegiate goals:
“Coming off the Auburn game [the missed opportunities] hurt. In practice, we have been working on set pieces and shots from distance or inside the box.

“Just the energy from my teammates – that was unbelievable. We went into halftime and Tatum [O’Coyne] told me ‘Donnie on that corner – I knew we were scoring’. Just the belief from my teammates is unbelievable. Also, the urgency and the energy from Gator Nation tonight was unmatched. Got to give a shout out to my little volleyball friends. Maybe they’re not so little, but my volleyball friends always show up and they support Gator soccer like no other. So I definitely heard everyone, but they’re special.” – senior Lauren Donovan

Records:
Florida: 4-3-5, 1-2-1 SEC
Texas: 9-2-2, 2-2-1 SEC

Series Record:
Tied at 1-1-1

Next Up:
Florida continues play versus top-25 teams next Thursday at No. 24 South Carolina. The Gamecocks (5-1-5, 2-1-1 SEC) tied 1-1 at Vanderbilt tonight.

No. 24 South Carolina
Date: Thursday, Oct. 10
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Site: Eugene E. Stone III Stadium<https://gamecocksonline.com/facilities/eugene-e-stone-iii-stadium/>
Stream: SEC Network +<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/60bd8f1a-0a13-430f-9b18-cea3020502b9> with Brad Muller and Nancy Goffi calling the action
StatBroadcast<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=533559&vislive=fla>
Tickets: $10/adult; $5/youth<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gamecocks/buy/soccertickets>

No. 22 Texas (9-2-2, 2-2-1 SEC) at Florida (4-3-5, 1-2-1 SEC)

Stadium: Donald R. Dizney Stadium (1412)

Weather: 80 degrees, winds ENE at 7 mph

Goals by Period

Total

Texas

Florida

Scoring Summary:

No.

Time

Team