Thursday, August 13
Orlando, FL
7 p.m.
Florida Gators
at
UCF
Florida celebrates a goal (above) n the final exhibition of the preseason last Saturday versus FIU. The 2026 season gets started Thursday at UCF.
Florida Soccer Starts Season Thursday at UCF
Tuesday, August 11, 2026 | Soccer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - A new era of Florida soccer begins Thursday, Aug. 13, when the Gators make the short trip to Orlando to face UCF in the first match under Head Coach Nick Zimmerman.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET at the UCF Soccer Complex.
Thursday marks the fourth time in the program's 32 seasons that Florida has opened against UCF, with each of those season-opening meetings taking place in Orlando. The Gators lead the all-time series 14-8-2, while the Knights took the most recent meeting, 1-0, on Aug. 28, 2025, at Dizney Stadium.
Thursday, Aug. 13 at UCF
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Site: UCF Soccer Complex
TV: ESPN + with Ryan Davis and Jade Barkett calling the action; Berkleigh Mezzanotte providing reports from the sideline
Live Stats
Tickets
Florida owns a 21-7-3 record in season openers, including a 6-6-1 mark when beginning the season on the road.
The Gators wrapped up 2026 preseason play Saturday with a 7-1 win over Florida International, as seven different players found the back of the net.
Zimmerman Returns to Sunshine State
One of the nation's rising coaching stars, Zimmerman returns to his home state to begin his first season at Florida. The Tampa, Fla., native arrives after seven seasons at Mississippi State, including his final year as the Bulldogs' head coach.
During his tenure in Starkville, Mississippi State developed into a consistent national contender. The Bulldogs claimed the program's first SEC championship in 2024 with a perfect 10-0 conference record and advanced to each of the last four NCAA Tournaments.
In his first season as a head coach in 2025, Zimmerman guided Mississippi State to a 12-7-1 record. Only 15 percent of NCAA Division I women's soccer programs reached 12 wins that season, and Zimmerman was one of just three first-year head coaches nationally to lead his team to at least 12 victories.
About the 2026 Gators:
Challenging Schedule:
Florida opens the season at UCF, one of 10 opponents on the Gators' 2026 schedule that advanced to the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Florida is one of just 15 teams nationally set to face at least 10 teams from last season's NCAA field. The Gators' 10 NCAA Tournament opponents tie Texas A&M and Tennessee for the most among SEC teams.
The schedule also features six teams ranked in the 2026 United Soccer Coaches preseason top 25. That total is tied for third most nationally and shares the SEC lead with Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee.
About the UCF Knights:
The Knights posted a 12-4-5 record in 2025 and tied for fifth in the Big 12 with a 5-1-5 league mark. UCF earned an at-large NCAA Tournament berth and advanced to the second round before a 1-0 loss at Duke. Both Florida (SEC) and UCF (Big 12) are both No. 8 in conference preseason coaches polls.
Redshirt sophomore Gabi Berchon is the Knights' top returning offensive player after recording three goals, three assists and nine points in 2025.
UCF will have a new starting goalkeeper after Genesis Perez Watson, who played every minute in goal last season and earned All-Big 12 second team honors, signed a professional contract this summer. Four goalkeepers are competing for the starting role.
Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak begins her 14th season leading the Knights.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET at the UCF Soccer Complex.
Thursday marks the fourth time in the program's 32 seasons that Florida has opened against UCF, with each of those season-opening meetings taking place in Orlando. The Gators lead the all-time series 14-8-2, while the Knights took the most recent meeting, 1-0, on Aug. 28, 2025, at Dizney Stadium.
Thursday, Aug. 13 at UCF
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Site: UCF Soccer Complex
TV: ESPN + with Ryan Davis and Jade Barkett calling the action; Berkleigh Mezzanotte providing reports from the sideline
Live Stats
Tickets
Florida owns a 21-7-3 record in season openers, including a 6-6-1 mark when beginning the season on the road.
The Gators wrapped up 2026 preseason play Saturday with a 7-1 win over Florida International, as seven different players found the back of the net.
Zimmerman Returns to Sunshine State
One of the nation's rising coaching stars, Zimmerman returns to his home state to begin his first season at Florida. The Tampa, Fla., native arrives after seven seasons at Mississippi State, including his final year as the Bulldogs' head coach.
During his tenure in Starkville, Mississippi State developed into a consistent national contender. The Bulldogs claimed the program's first SEC championship in 2024 with a perfect 10-0 conference record and advanced to each of the last four NCAA Tournaments.
In his first season as a head coach in 2025, Zimmerman guided Mississippi State to a 12-7-1 record. Only 15 percent of NCAA Division I women's soccer programs reached 12 wins that season, and Zimmerman was one of just three first-year head coaches nationally to lead his team to at least 12 victories.
About the 2026 Gators:
- Florida's 29-player roster includes 18 newcomers – eight freshmen and 10 transfers. 2026 Gator Roster
- Florida was 6-7-5 in 2025. Sophomore Addy Hess is the Gators' leading returning scorer after pacing the team with four goals, three assists and 11 points in 2025. Three others with multiple goals are back – sophomores Sophia Sindelar (3g, 1a, 7pt), Katie Johnston (2g, 2a, 6 pt) and junior Skye Barnes (2g, 1a, 5pt). Florida returns two who saw action at goalkeeper last season – redshirt junior Jayden Emmanuel and redshirt sophomore Paloma Peña.
- Five Gators appear on the 2026 SEC Soccer Preseason Watchlist – Hannah Jibril (D), Zoe Main (F), Paloma Peña (GK), Adia Symmonds (MF) and Kyra Taylor (F) The 10 transfers combined to score 31 goals last season. Seven transfers followed Zimmerman from Mississippi State to Florida after combining for 17 goals in 2025, accounting for 49 percent of MSU's scoring.
- Four Gators bring all-conference or all-region honor from a previous school:
- Montelene Dymond - 2025 All-Conference USA at FIU
- Hannah Jibril - 2025 All-SEC at MSU
- Zoe Main - 2024 & 2025 All-SEC / 2025 United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region at MSU
- Kyra Taylor - 2023 All-Conference USA at Louisiana Tech
- Seven Gators participated with their youth or senior national teams:
- Norah Abbott – played with Switzerland U-17 National Team in 2022 UEFA European Championships
- Addy Hess – part of U.S. U-16 Youth National Team for 2022 UEFA Development Tournament
- Lael Hill – invited to fall 2025 U.S. Youth National Team U-18/19 training camp
- Carlota Martins – competed with Spain Youth National U-15/U16/U17 teams
- Nylah Norris – part of U.S. Youth National Team since U-15 – most recently competed on trip of combined U.S. U-19 and U-18 Youth National Team in Portugal in October 2025
- Paloma Peña – continued play with Dominican Republic senior national team this year, competing most recently in Concacaf qualifiers versus Suriname in December and at Haiti in April
- Adia Symmonds – made international debut with U.S. Under-18/19 team in October of 2025; playing in three different countries with U.S. Youth National teams (Portugal, Argentina, Germany)
- Iori Watanabe – member of Japan U-16 team that traveled to U.S. in fall 2023
- Six with state Gatorade Player of the Year and/or high school or club All-America honors
- Mia Gray - 2025 United Soccer Coaches Fall H.S. All-America
- Addy Hess - 2024 Gatorade Virginia Player of the Year / 2022 and 2023 United Soccer Coaches Club/Youth All-America
- Lael Hill - 2026 United Soccer Coaches Winter/Spring H.S. All-America
- Katie Johnston - 2022 and 2023 ECNL All-America
- Sophia Sindelar - 2023 and 2024 United Soccer Coaches Fall H.S. All-America
- Kelsey Smith - 2022 Gatorade Maryland Player of the Year / 2021 United Soccer Coaches Fall H.S. All-American
Challenging Schedule:
Florida opens the season at UCF, one of 10 opponents on the Gators' 2026 schedule that advanced to the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Florida is one of just 15 teams nationally set to face at least 10 teams from last season's NCAA field. The Gators' 10 NCAA Tournament opponents tie Texas A&M and Tennessee for the most among SEC teams.
The schedule also features six teams ranked in the 2026 United Soccer Coaches preseason top 25. That total is tied for third most nationally and shares the SEC lead with Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee.
About the UCF Knights:
The Knights posted a 12-4-5 record in 2025 and tied for fifth in the Big 12 with a 5-1-5 league mark. UCF earned an at-large NCAA Tournament berth and advanced to the second round before a 1-0 loss at Duke. Both Florida (SEC) and UCF (Big 12) are both No. 8 in conference preseason coaches polls.
Redshirt sophomore Gabi Berchon is the Knights' top returning offensive player after recording three goals, three assists and nine points in 2025.
UCF will have a new starting goalkeeper after Genesis Perez Watson, who played every minute in goal last season and earned All-Big 12 second team honors, signed a professional contract this summer. Four goalkeepers are competing for the starting role.
Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak begins her 14th season leading the Knights.
Players Mentioned
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