GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Redshirt sophomore Paloma Peña (Miramar, Fla.) claims her second Southeastern Conference Defensive Soccer Player of the Week after shutouts at No. 4 Tennessee (0-0) and versus Mississippi (0-0).
This marks the fifth SEC weekly award for the Gators this season. Peña claimed her first SEC Defensive Player of the Week on September 22. A Gator picked up the SEC Freshman of the Week three times – Addy Hess (Sept. 1 and Oct. 13) and Kai Tsakiris (Sept. 29).
Other Oct. 20 SEC weekly winners include:
Offensive: Sydney Watts | Vanderbilt
Freshman: Caroline Duffy | Reagan Pentz
Quick Look at the Performance of Paloma Peña :
* Paloma Peña set her collegiate high of 11 saves in shutout at No. 4 Tennessee. That shares third on Florida’s all-time saves in a match list.
* Also turned in a shutout versus Mississippi – the third complete shutout of the season and of her career.
* Two of her three shutouts came versus top 15 teams – No. 15 South Carolina and at No. 4 Tennessee
* Florida is unbeaten in the last seven matches.
Florida played a league-high six SEC teams ranked among the United Soccer Coaches top-25 at time of meeting. The Gators are unbeaten in their last four top-25 matches – then No. 15 South Carolina (0-0 tie), at then No. 17 Georgia (2-2 tie), then No. 12 Mississippi State (2-1 win) and at No. 4 Tennessee (0-0).
Next Up:
The Gators closes regular-season action Sunday, Oct. 26 at LSU, a team receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll<https://unitedsoccercoaches.org/rankings/college-rankings/ncaa-di-women/>. The Tigers are unbeaten their last six matches, with wins at Auburn (3-1), Missouri (1-0), Texas A&M (4-1) and at Mississippi (4-1). LSU opened league action with a tie at Vanderbilt (0-0) and also tied at then No. 17 Georgia (1-1) and yesterday at RV Kentucky (1-1). The losses came versus Alabama (2-1) and at then No. 5 Tennessee (2-1).
With one match remaining in the league’s regular-season schedule, Florida’s 11 points places the team 11th in the SEC standings. Two teams share 12th with eight points each – Auburn and Texas A&M. Teams will be looking for points (3 points for win; 1 point for tie) next Sunday in their regular-season finales as the top 12 teams advance to the SEC Tournament.
2025 SEC Soccer Standings<https://www.secsports.com/standings/soccer>
At RV LSU (9-5-3, 4-2-3 SEC)
Date: Sunday, Oct. 26
Time/Site: 3 p.m. ET at the LSU Soccer Stadium<https://lsusports.net/facilities/lsu-soccer-stadium/>
Stream: SEC Network +<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/d5c78a1c-945c-4ded-9809-5bfb52e5d02f>
Stats<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=596079&vislive=fla>
Admission: Free
