Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida soccer (4-3-3, 0-2-1 SEC) closes September play with its first Southeastern Conference Western Division foe – Louisiana State – Friday at the LSU Soccer Stadium.
 
Last week, Florida tied 1-1 Kentucky after dropping a 2-0 match at Tennessee. The Tigers claimed their two conference wins last week, upsetting then No. 22 Georgia 3-2 in Athens and winning 2-1 over Mississippi State on Sunday.
 
Through the opening three matches of league play, LSU is alone in second with a 2-1 SEC record.
 
                Louisiana State (7-3-1, 2-1 SEC)
                Date: Friday, Sept. 29
                Time: 7 p.m. ET
                Site: LSU Soccer Stadium
                Stream: SEC Network +
                Stats: StatBroadcast
                Admission: Free
 
Florida's Last Match:
Florida earned its first SEC point after tying Kentucky 1-1 Sunday at the Donald R. Dizney Stadium. The first Gator goal for senior transfer Emily Yaple was the only goal of the opening half. She received the ball above the box and made an angled run toward the edge of the box. Her right-footed 20-yard strike scored at the far post corner. Yaple joined the Gators this season after scoring 10 goals in her three seasons with Pittsburgh.
 
Kentucky tied the match in the 65th minute when Maya Lacognato put in the ball played across the face of the goal by Jordyn Rhodes.
 
Florida kept looking for the go-ahead goal including a header that was just high by senior defender Anna DeLeon in the 89th minute.
 
About the LSU Tigers:
In 2022, Louisiana State was 10-4-7 overall and seventh in the Southeastern Conference with a 4-2-4 record. The Tigers return 21 from the 2022 squad that reached the NCAA Second Round. Five freshmen, one transfer (Hali Hartman from Oklahoma) and walk-on Sarah Portis round out the 28 on LSU's roster.
 
Among the Tigers' seven wins this season are a pair of road wins versus top-25 opponents – at then No. 9 Texas (3-1) and at then No. 22 Georgia (3-2). The Tigers are in sole position of No. 2 in the current SEC standings with six points. Ten different Tigers have scored goals this season, including sophomore Ida Hermannsdottir's team-leading four goals. Senior Mollie Baker shares LSU's points lead with Hermannsdottir with 10 points off three goals and a team-high four assists. Sophomore Sage Glover is the reigning SEC Offensive Player of the Week after scoring the game-winning goals at No. 22 Georgia and versus Mississippi State. Mollee Swift has played all but 71 minutes in goal this season and owns a goals-against-average of 1.30.    
 
Last UF-LSU Meeting:
This is the first meeting between Florida and LSU since the Gators claimed a 4-0 home win on Oct. 24, 2021. The scoring started at 14:01 when Madison Alexander put in the ball off of Kit Loferski's lofted cross.
 
Florida scored three times in an 18-minute second-half span. Alivia Gonzalez scored on a 17-yard left-footed shot to the far post in the 55th minute. A set play goal was next for Florida in the 62nd minute. A corner kick set up Madison Young's first collegiate goal off a header. After assists on the opening two goals, Loferski scored the afternoon's final goal off a penalty kick at 71:23. It was UF's first penalty kick of the season.