Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida soccer begins this week's action with home match at the Donald R. Dizney Stadium to face Missouri. Then the Gators travel to Nashville, Tenn., to face No. 15 and defending Southeastern Conference champion Vanderbilt on Sunday.
 
Thursday, Sept. 26 versus Missouri
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Streaming Video: SEC Network + with Kyle Crooks and Matthew Stubbington calling the action
Radio: GatorVision with Ryan Urquhart and Gator soccer career shutouts leader Kaylan Marckese
Live Stats
Series Record: Florida leads 7-2-2
Promotions: Replica T-shirt Giveaway - In honor of the 25th season of Gators Soccer, the first 250 fans in attendance will receive a throwback jersey t-shirt.
 
Sunday, Sept. 29 at No. 15 Vanderbilt
Time/Site: 1 p.m. ET
Television: SEC Network with Drew Fellios and Jill Loyden calling the action
Streaming Video: SEC Network
Radio: GatorVision with Kyle Crooks calling the action
                Live Stats
Series Record: Florida leads 27-3-1
 
Last Week's Match:
Florida enters Thursday's match after opening SEC play with a 3-0 win at LSU on Sept. 19. The start was delayed two hours by lightning in the Baton Rouge area. Senior Vanessa Kara scored the Gators' opening two goals. Her first came in the 22^nd minute when she headed in the lofted ball from Tess Sapone. In the 48^th minute, Kit Loferski jetted down the right side before sending a deep cross in front of the goal. Kara's outstretched foot just beat her defender to score at the middle of the goal. Then Loferski added a goal in the 62^nd minute. Ava Kuyken's pass found Loferski again on the right side. Loferski brought the ball to just outside the box, did a stepover to create space and then scored from 16 yards on a left-footed strike.
 
The result marked Florida third consecutive shutout win and the season's fourth for junior Susi Espinoza. The last time UF recorded three consecutive clean sheet wins came in the 2016 season.
 
Last Meeting Between Gators at Missouri:
In the last meeting between UF and MU, Missouri took a 2-0 win in Columbia, Mo., on Oct. 21, 2018. Sarah Luebbert one-touched in the deep cross from Bella Alessi in the 10th minute and Skye Kingsley slid to tap-in the deflected ball at the middle of the goal in the 66th minute. Florida outshot the Tigers 14-11, including a 10-5 advantage in the second half.
 
Last Season's Meetings Between Gators-Vanderbilt:
Florida and Vanderbilt split in their 2018 meetings.
 
The two teams opened SEC regular-season play at Dizney Stadium. Vanderbilt's Kaylann Boyd scored the only goal of the first half off a 30-yard shot in the 13th minute. Then UF senior Laís Araujo's goal in the 78th minute tied the match. Her sharply angled shot off the assist from Deanne Rose ended Florida's six-match scoring drought. Vanderbilt's game-winner in the 88th minute came when Caroline Saltmarsh sent a corner-kick clearance ahead to Paola Ellis who put it in from five yards.
 
An early goal held for 83 minutes as Florida upset top-seeded and then No. 10 Vanderbilt 1-0 in SEC Tournament quarterfinal play in Orange Beach, Ala. The goal started with Mayra Pelayo's cross finding fellow Gator senior Laís Araujo in the middle of the box. The ball popped up off Araujo's touch and then it was a foot race between sophomore Madison Alexander and VU goalkeeper Lauren Demarchi. Alexander got just enough foot on ball to send it toward goal where it caught crossbar's underside to bang in at 6:20 – the earliest Gator goal of 2018.