Florida Faces No. 12 Mississippi State Friday

Friday, October 10

Gainesville, FL

7 p.m.

Florida Gators

Mississippi State

McCloskey_Lauren__250828_5167_JordanPerez

Lauren McCloskey (above) is one of four Gator seniors who will be honored Friday for Gators Senior Night. The Gators play host to No. 12 Mississippi State Friday at the Donald R. Dizney Stadium.

Florida Faces No. 12 Mississippi State Friday

Tuesday, October 7, 2025 | Soccer

By: Mary Howard

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida soccer has a single match this weekend and it is against the fifth top-25 league opponent for UF this season – No. 12 Mississippi State.

Friday, Oct. 10 versus No. 12 Mississippi State
Time/Site: 7 p.m. ET at Donald R. Dizney Stadium
Stream: SEC Network + with Matthew Stubbington and Ryan Urquhart calling the action
Audio Stream: Gators + with Nevada Cullen and Ethan Eibe calling the action.
Stats
Admission: Free
Promotions: Let your support be heard by being one of the first 250 fans to get Thundersticks for this meeting with the defending SEC champions. Celebrate Florida's senior class in a post-match ceremony. Sign up for a chance to win a pair of tickets to the Oct. 18 Florida vs Mississippi State football game.

2025 Florida soccer seniors - Charlotte McClure (left), Njeri Butts and Tatum O'Coyne and Lauren McCloskey — Florida's 2025 Senior Day celebrates Charlotte MClure (left), Njeri Butts, Tatum O'Coyne and Lauren McCloskey in a post-match ceremony. Photo: Morgan Hurd

Florida Senior Night:
The Gator careers of four Gators will be celebrated 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 McClure and Tatum O'Coyne both graduated with their bachelor's degrees earlier this year. The senior quad has a combined 174 match appearances during their Gator careers.

Last Match:
Florida sealed a gritty 2-1 victory over Texas Sunday at the Mike A. Myers Stadium and Soccer Field. That win marked the Gators' first league win of 2025 after battling through three consecutive draws versus teams recognized in the United Soccer Coaches poll.

After a scoreless opening half, Florida was awarded a penalty kick in the 50^th minute after a video review showed a Texas handball. Kai Tsakiris stepped up to successfully covert the shot for her team-leading fourth goal of the season. The Longhorns tied the match in the 57th minute when Ava McDonald's lifted ball from just outside the box was headed in by Molly MacMillan. Another penalty kick, this time awarded in the 66^th minute after freshman Sophia Sindelar was pulled down in the box, put UF back in the lead. Sophomore Abby Gemma stepped up to take the kick and successfully scored her first collegiate goal. She is the 10^th Gator to score her first collegiate goal this season and the 12^th different UF scorer in 2025.

About No. 12 Mississippi State (9-2-1, 4-1-1 SEC):
Mississippi State was 19-3 in 2024 and won its first Southeastern Conference regular-season with a 10-0 record. The Bulldogs 2024 NCAA run ended with a third-round 2-0 home loss to Notre Dame. MSU is picked to finish eighth in the 2025 preseason vote by the league coaches.

Mississippi State is third in the current SEC standings with its 4-1-1 record. The Bulldogs opened league play with a 3-2 win over then No. 1 Tennessee and added more points with wins at Texas (3-0), at Missouri (3-0) and versus Mississippi (2-0) plus a tie versus Auburn (1-1). The only league loss came Sunday at then No. 7 Arkansas (4-2).

Leading the 13 different Bulldog goal scorers this season is senior Ally Perry's seven goals and six assists. Sophomore Sarah Wommack has started 12 matches and owns a goals-against-average of 1.05.