GAINESVILLE, Fla. – On a night meant to honor experience, it was the heart of two freshmen that lit the way. Their crucial goals powered Florida soccer to a memorable 2-1 Senior Night win over 12th-ranked Mississippi State at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
The scores by freshmen Sophia Sindelar and Addy Hess were anchored by UF’s combined defensive effort versus a Bulldog team which stood second in the Southeastern Conference in goal scoring.
It was the Gators first win versus a top-12 team since the 3-1 win over then No. 12 Texas A&M on Oct. 6, 2019.
This Evening’s Scoring:
The Bulldogs opened the scoring in the 18th minute after Tatum Borum received the throw-in and headed end line. Just after she entered the box, her angled pass found Zoe Main, who scored on a right-footed one-touch from near the penalty spot.
Florida tied the match in the 40th minute. Kai Tsakiris drove end line outside the box. Tsakiris’ angled pass sent just before hitting the end line was touched by Skye Barnes to Sophia Sindelar. The 10-yard right-footed shot by Sindelar scored at the far post. It was her third goal of the season.
The Gators second goal in a 10-minute span gave UF a 2-1 lead in the 50th minute. Lena Bailey received the ball at midfield, spun and then headed end line. Her cross found Addy Hess right above the six-yard box. Her right-footed shot deflected off the goalkeeper back to her. Hess then used her left to score her fourth goal of the season.
In the 57th minute, MSU’s leading scorer Ally Perry and UF midfielder Charlotte McClure received red cards after a skirmish on the field. Both teams played a man-down for the remainder of the match. Florida last played a man-down Oct. 24, 2024 at Alabama.
Did You Know?
- The game-winning score by Addy Hess moves her into a tie with fellow freshman Kai Tsakiris for Florida’s goals lead at four each. Tsakiris also leads UF in assists (4).
- Freshman Sophia Sindelar is third among the Gators with three goals.
- Skye Barnes earned her first collegiate assist on Sindelar’s goal.
- Paloma Peña turned in five saves tonight, just one away from her collegiate-high of six set in the scoreless tie versus then No. 15 South Carolina on Sept. 21.
- Florida last was unbeaten versus five SEC opponents was in 2016. UF finished 2016 regular-season action with three wins and went 2-0-1 to win the SEC Tournament for a six-match unbeaten stretch versus league opponents. The 2025 Gators started this stretch with three consecutive ties – No. 15 South Carolina (0-0), at No. 17 Georgia (2-2), RV Kentucky (1-1) – and won its last two matches – at Texas (2-1) and versus No. 12 Mississippi State (2-1).
- Friday match marked Florida’s sixth top-25 opponent this season (1-3-2), which is second in the league to Arkansas’ seven ranked opponents.
Florida Senior Night:
The Gator careers of four Gators was celebrated Friday in a post-match ceremony.
Njeri Butts
Lauren McCloskey
Charlotte McClure
Tatum O’Coyne
All earned spots on the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll throughout their Gator careers. Two are working on becoming double Gator grads as Charlotte McClurehttps://floridagators.com/news/2025/5/1/six-gator-soccer-grads-this-weekend and Tatum O’Coynehttps://floridagators.com/news/2025/8/8/general-commencement-weekend-for-gator-student-athletes both graduated with their bachelor’s degrees earlier this year. The senior quad has a combined 177 match appearances during their Gator careers.
Winning for the seniors was a focus for the Gators this week.
“It means so much especially because it’s Senior Night,” Addy Hess said. “We are celebrating all our seniors because they mean so much to us.”
Sophia Sindelar echoed that sentiment.
“All week, we’ve been talking about how good it would feel, and we knew it was going to be a huge challenge. And obviously, as you can see, it definitely showed to be that,” Sindelar said. “But I love them {the seniors} so much. They are such a big piece of our team. They are honestly the engine that keeps us going. They are so wise, giving us all great information all the time. I’m grateful to have been able to learn from them for not only this fall, but also in the spring too. And they are amazing people off the field as well. So it means everything to be able to get this win for them.”
Hear From Coach Bohon:
On this evening’s performance:
“It was really fun. We told our team, this is our last real, true home night game this season. And obviously, anytime that’s a Senior Day, that adds a little extra emotion.
“To be honest with you, I feel like we’ve been doing this every game where we’re right there. We just maybe gotten a tie instead of a win. I’m not surprised that we are finding ways now to win, because we’ve been so close and this team will fight. I think that’s one of the main characteristics of this group – the DNA they have of that blue collar fight. So it was wonderful to see.” Florida Head Coach Samantha Bohon.
Records:
Florida: 6-5-3, 2-2-3 SEC
Mississippi State: 9-3-1, 4-2-1 SEC
Series Record:
Florida leads 17-3-2
Next Up:
The Gators face another ranked league opponent Thursday at No. 4 Tennessee (11-1-2, 5-1-1 SEC). The Lady Vols own league wins over Missouri (2-0), LSU (2-1), Texas A&M (1-0), then No. 17 Georgia (2-0), Mississippi (4-1). Tennessee opened SEC play with a 3-2 loss at Mississippi State. Tennessee and Oklahoma played to a scoreless tie last night in Norman, Okla.
at No. 4 Tennessee (11-1-2, 5-1-1 SEC)
Date: Thursday, Oct. 16
Time/Site: 7 p.m. ET at Regal Soccer Stadiumhttps://utsports.com/facilities/regal-soccer-stadium/16
Stream: SEC Network +https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/59b4d374-8270-4049-9b45-7d1253d27301
Statshttps://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=597379&vislive=fla
Admission: Free
No. 12 Mississippi State (9-3-1, 4-2-1 SEC) at Florida (6-5-3, 2-2-3 SEC)
Stadium: Donald R. Dizney Stadium
Weather: 71 degrees, cloudy, wind NNE at 12 mph
Goals by Period
1
2
Total
Mississippi State
1
0
1
Florida
1
1
2
Scoring Summary:
No.
Time
Team
Goal Scorer
Assist
1.
17:41
MSU
Zoe Main
Tatum Borman
2.
39:02
UF
Sophia Sindelar
Skye Barnes, Kai Tsakiris
3.
49:09
UF
Addy Hess
Shots: MSU 13, UF 9
Saves: MSU 5 (Sarah Wommack 4, TEAM 1), Florida 5 (Paloma Peña 5)
Offsides: MSU 1, UF 0
Cautions: Charlotte McClure-UF (red) 56:45; Ally Perry-MSU (red) 56:50; MSU bench (yellow) 57:42; Lena Bailey-UF (yellow) 59:32, Katie Johnston-UF (yellow) 82:05
