Friday, September 18
Starkville, MS
7 p.m.
Florida Gators
at
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Mississippi State
Florida continues season-opening road play Friday in the Magnolia State when the Gators face Mississippi State. [Photo: Paul Fong]
Florida Continues SEC Road Action Friday at Mississippi State
Tuesday, September 15, 2026 | Soccer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida soccer (4-3-1, 0-1-0 SEC) continues season opening Southeastern Conference road play Friday evening at Mississippi State (7-1-0, 1-0-0 SEC).
Friday, Sept. 18 at Mississippi State
Time/Site: 7 p.m. at MSU Soccer Field
Streaming Video: SEC Network + Anthony Craven and Henry Zapata with Friday's call
Live Stats
Admission: Free
About Friday's Match:
Friday's match at Mississippi State marks a homecoming for Florida head coach Nick Zimmerman, whose head coaching career began in Starkville. Zimmerman joined the Bulldogs as an assistant coach in 2019 and helped transform a program with limited postseason history into a national contender. During his tenure, Mississippi State earned four consecutive NCAA Tournament berths, made six SEC Tournament appearances and claimed its first SEC regular-season championship with a perfect 10-0 record in 2024.
Zimmerman was elevated to head coach for the 2025 season and guided the Bulldogs to their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Mississippi State recorded three top-10 victories that season, including a 3-2 win over then-No. 1 Tennessee.
Florida's match at Mississippi State begins a stretch of three consecutive contests against teams led by first-year head coaches: Mississippi State's Kevin O'Brien, Texas' Margueritte Aozasa and Texas A&M's Bobby Shuttleworth.
Did You Know?
Forty-one coaches are in their first season at an NCAA Division I women's soccer program in 2026, including 23 who served as head coaches at another collegiate program in 2025.
Only two will face their former teams this season, with both reunions set for Friday, Sept. 18.
Florida's Nick Zimmerman returns to Mississippi State
Old Dominion's Will Roberts returns to Louisiana-Monroe
Last Match Out:
No. 23 Florida opened Southeastern Conference play with a 1-0 loss at No. 19 South Carolina on Sept. 10 before a crowd of 3,750 at Eugene E. Stone III Stadium.
South Carolina's Reese Slater scored the match's only goal in the 40th minute. Autumn Cayelli's shot was deflected across the box to Slater, who scored from 12 yards.
Florida, which is 19-9-4 all-time in SEC openers, created several of its best first-half opportunities in the final five minutes.
Zoe Main's strike clipped the crossbar. Three minutes later, she sent an angled shot from inside the box just wide of the far post. The Gators generated four shots in the final 20 seconds of the half, including attempts by Tatum Borman and Main that South Carolina goalkeeper Christina Tsaousis saved in the final four seconds.
Florida continued to generate chances but could not find the equalizer. The Gators finished with a 15-10 advantage in shots, while each team put three shots on goal.
About Mississippi State:
Mississippi State posted a 12-7-1 record in 2025 and tied for seventh in the Southeastern Conference with a 5-4-1 league mark. The Bulldogs were among nine SEC teams to advance to the NCAA Tournament, losing 1-0 to Lipscomb in the first round. MSU was picked 14th in the 2026 SEC preseason coaches' poll.
The Bulldogs opened conference play with a 4-1 victory at Mississippi, fueled by two goals from Laila Murillo. MSU opened the season with six consecutive wins before closing nonconference play with a 3-0 loss to Charlotte.
Senior transfer Hailey Johnson and freshman Kati Anne Shepherd share the team lead with 11 points. Each has four goals and three assists. Murillo leads MSU with five goals. Shepherd is the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week after scoring the winning goal in the conference opener.
Senior Jenny Harrison leads the Bulldogs in goalkeeping minutes this season and has a 0.82 goals-against average.
Kevin O'Brien is in his first season at Mississippi State after serving as Lipscomb's head coach from 2012-25. He led the Bisons to five NCAA Tournament appearances.
Friday, Sept. 18 at Mississippi State
Time/Site: 7 p.m. at MSU Soccer Field
Streaming Video: SEC Network + Anthony Craven and Henry Zapata with Friday's call
Live Stats
Admission: Free
About Friday's Match:
Friday's match at Mississippi State marks a homecoming for Florida head coach Nick Zimmerman, whose head coaching career began in Starkville. Zimmerman joined the Bulldogs as an assistant coach in 2019 and helped transform a program with limited postseason history into a national contender. During his tenure, Mississippi State earned four consecutive NCAA Tournament berths, made six SEC Tournament appearances and claimed its first SEC regular-season championship with a perfect 10-0 record in 2024.
Zimmerman was elevated to head coach for the 2025 season and guided the Bulldogs to their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Mississippi State recorded three top-10 victories that season, including a 3-2 win over then-No. 1 Tennessee.
Florida's match at Mississippi State begins a stretch of three consecutive contests against teams led by first-year head coaches: Mississippi State's Kevin O'Brien, Texas' Margueritte Aozasa and Texas A&M's Bobby Shuttleworth.
Did You Know?
Forty-one coaches are in their first season at an NCAA Division I women's soccer program in 2026, including 23 who served as head coaches at another collegiate program in 2025.
Only two will face their former teams this season, with both reunions set for Friday, Sept. 18.
Florida's Nick Zimmerman returns to Mississippi State
Old Dominion's Will Roberts returns to Louisiana-Monroe
Last Match Out:
No. 23 Florida opened Southeastern Conference play with a 1-0 loss at No. 19 South Carolina on Sept. 10 before a crowd of 3,750 at Eugene E. Stone III Stadium.
South Carolina's Reese Slater scored the match's only goal in the 40th minute. Autumn Cayelli's shot was deflected across the box to Slater, who scored from 12 yards.
Florida, which is 19-9-4 all-time in SEC openers, created several of its best first-half opportunities in the final five minutes.
Zoe Main's strike clipped the crossbar. Three minutes later, she sent an angled shot from inside the box just wide of the far post. The Gators generated four shots in the final 20 seconds of the half, including attempts by Tatum Borman and Main that South Carolina goalkeeper Christina Tsaousis saved in the final four seconds.
Florida continued to generate chances but could not find the equalizer. The Gators finished with a 15-10 advantage in shots, while each team put three shots on goal.
About Mississippi State:
Mississippi State posted a 12-7-1 record in 2025 and tied for seventh in the Southeastern Conference with a 5-4-1 league mark. The Bulldogs were among nine SEC teams to advance to the NCAA Tournament, losing 1-0 to Lipscomb in the first round. MSU was picked 14th in the 2026 SEC preseason coaches' poll.
The Bulldogs opened conference play with a 4-1 victory at Mississippi, fueled by two goals from Laila Murillo. MSU opened the season with six consecutive wins before closing nonconference play with a 3-0 loss to Charlotte.
Senior transfer Hailey Johnson and freshman Kati Anne Shepherd share the team lead with 11 points. Each has four goals and three assists. Murillo leads MSU with five goals. Shepherd is the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week after scoring the winning goal in the conference opener.
Senior Jenny Harrison leads the Bulldogs in goalkeeping minutes this season and has a 0.82 goals-against average.
Kevin O'Brien is in his first season at Mississippi State after serving as Lipscomb's head coach from 2012-25. He led the Bisons to five NCAA Tournament appearances.
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