GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A pair of Sunshine State opponents – first away and then home – are next for Gators soccer.
Florida (1-0, 0-0 SEC) heads to Jacksonville to face North Florida for its first road match of 2024 on Thursday. Then the Gators play host to UCF on Sunday to close August home action.
Thursday, Aug. 22 at North Florida
Time/Site: 7 p.m. at Hodges Stadium<https://unfospreys.com/facilities/hodges-stadium/4>
Streaming Video: ESPN + <https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/3148acd3-3332-4472-b9d8-0c3da302d36b> Announcers: MC Bell and Richard Miller
Live Stats<https://unfospreys.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary>
Admission: Free
Sunday, Aug. 25 vs UCF
Time/Site: 6 p.m. at Donald R. Dizney Stadium<https://floridagators.com/sports/2020/4/4/donald-r-dizney-stadium.aspx>
Streaming Video: SEC Network +<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/1843833f-3fe6-4329-b473-38f65be4f9f2> with action called by Kyle Crooks and Matthew Stubbington
Radio: ESPN 98.1 FM / 850 AM WRUF <https://floridagators.com/watch/?Live=5465&type=Archive> with action called by Sky Lebron & Mary Pallman
Live Stats<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=532021>
Promotions: First 500 fans get a Gator Bang-A-Banner to help make their presence heard by the Gators.
Admission is free for all Gator soccer regular-season home matches.
Florida’s Season Opener:
The Gators opened the 2024 season with a 2-0 home win versus 2023 Southern Conference champion Western Carolina last Friday.
Florida is now 21-6-3 all-time in season openers. A third of Florida’s 30 seasons have opened with a shutout win and this was the second consecutive season-opening 2-0 victory.
* Senior Madison Young headed in the Gators’ first goal of the season in the 40th minute. All four of Young’s collegiate goals have been headers off corner kicks and each of the last three corner kicks were served by Delaney Tauzel.
* Sophomore transfer Delaney Tellex closed the scoring by putting in Njeri Butt’s cross in the 88th minute. It was Tellex’s first Gator goal and first since she hit the game-winning goal to give Memphis the 2023 American Athletic Conference tournament title.
* Alexa Goldberg made her 18th consecutive start in goal. Redshirt freshman Paloma Peña made her first collegiate appearance, playing the entirety of the second half.
* Four starters – freshman Vera Blom, redshirt sophomore Madison Jones, Tellex and graduate Emilee Hauser – made their Gator debuts Friday. Three others – freshman Ryleigh Acosta and Norah Abbott and Peña – also made their first Gator appearances. Seven of the 18 who played in the opener made their Gator debuts. Blom marked the 23rd year a freshman was among Florida’s season opener starters.
About Upcoming Opponents:
North Florida (1-1, 0-0 ASUN)
North Florida was 4-9-5 overall in 2023 and took 10th in the Atlantic Sun Conference with at 2-6-3 record. UNF is picked No. 6 in the 2024 ASUN preseason coaches poll. Graduate defender Zara Siassi, a two-time All-ASUN selection, is among the preseason All-ASUN selections.
North Florida opened 2024 with a pair Atlantic Coast Conference road matches. The Ospreys opened the season with a 1-0 win at Miami and lost 10-0 at No. 1 Florida State on Sunday.
Eric Faulconer is in his sixth season leading the Ospreys.
Central Florida (1-0, 0-0 Big 12)
UCF was 10-7-1 in 2023 and was sixth at 5-4-1 in the program’s first season of Big 12 play. The Knights are picked to finish sixth in the expanded Big 12 Conference this season. Three Knights are on the preseason Big 12 team senior forward Chloe Netzel, sophomore defender Jessica McCullen and freshman forward Edidiong Etim. Netzel led UCF last season in goals (7), points (17) and game-winning goals (4). McCullen earned Big 12 All-Freshman honors in 2023, playing in 15 matches. Etim, a member of Nigeria’s U17 team, is in her first season with the Knights.
UCF opened the season Aug. 15 with a 5-1 win at Florida Atlantic. Etim scored the first goal in just the third minute. Netzel scored the next two with the final goals coming from Jessica McCullen and Honoka Hamano. The Knights open their home season Thursday against Utah Valley.
Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak is in her 12th season heading up UCF. Both coaches in Sunday’s match were U.S. National Team members. Florida’s Samantha Bohon was part of the 1999 Women’s World Cup Residency Program and UCF’s Roberts was on the U.S. roster that won 1999 World Cup gold in front of a packed Rose Bowl Stadium crowd.
