Thursday, October 15
Nashville, TN
7 p.m.
Florida Gators
at
Vanderbilt
Senior captains Kyra Taylor (left) and Zoe Main show support versus Alabama. Florida closes SEC road play at No. 2 Vanderbilt on Thursday and defending conference champion Arkansas on Sunday. [Photo: Gabriel Gonzalez]
Florida Faces Road Tests at No. 2 Vanderbilt, Arkansas
Tuesday, October 13, 2026 | Soccer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida soccer closes Southeastern Conference regular-season road action with two challenging matches, beginning Thursday at No. 2 Vanderbilt before traveling to defending SEC regular-season champion Arkansas on Sunday.
The Gators (6-4-3, 2-2-2 SEC) enter road action following a dramatic 1-0 victory over then-No. 5 Alabama. The win made Florida the nation's only team with two victories over top-five opponents this season.
Thursday's match at Vanderbilt (12-0-1, 5-0-1 SEC) will be Florida's fourth against an opponent ranked in the top five at the time of the meeting — the most among SEC teams.
Thursday, Oct. 15 at No. 2 Vanderbilt (12-0-1, 5-0-1 SEC)
Time/Site: 7 p.m. at Vanderbilt Soccer Complex
Streaming Video: SEC Network + Kevin Ingram and Kelly Williams with the call
Live Stats
Admission: $2
Sunday, Oct. 18 at Arkansas (4-4-4, 2-1-3 SEC)
Time/Site: 2:30 p.m. ET at Razorback Field
Streaming Video: SEC Network + Josh Haley and Kelly Roliard with the call
Live Stats
Admission: $16 – adult; $11 - youth
Did You Know?
Florida's Last Match
With just 93 seconds remaining, Lena Bailey delivered the finish Florida needed.
The senior raced onto a pass from Lael Hill, advanced to the top of the penalty area and sent a right-footed shot into the far corner, lifting Florida to a 1-0 victory over No. 5 Alabama on a rainy night at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
Bailey's goal at 88:27 handed Alabama its first SEC loss of the season and secured Florida's second victory over a top-five opponent in 2026.
The Gators also defeated then-No. 3 Florida State 3-1 on Aug. 23.
For Florida coach Nick Zimmerman, the winning goal was the response he had challenged his team to deliver at halftime.
"We felt like we've been playing really good fútbol, and we felt like the last performances have been really, really good. So just to see the players get the reward — they earned it. They took the game tonight," Zimmerman said. "In the past, we challenged them to take it. At half, we made it abundantly clear: We're going to see if we're ready to take that game. With a minute thirty, in that moment where we were under it for a little bit, to go back and take that game after the chance we had just missed — that's exceptional."
This marks just the third season in program history that Florida has defeated two top-five opponents.
1998 1-0 vs No. 2 Santa Clara 1-0 vs No. 1 North Carolina
2012 3-2 OT at No. 2 Duke 2-1 at No. 5 Texas A&M
2026 3-1 vs No. T3 Florida St 1-0 vs No. 5 Alabama
Weekly Honors
The two Gators who connected on the game-winning goal versus No. 5 Alabama – Lena Bailey and Lael Hill – earned weekly honors.
Bailey is the SEC Offensive Player of the Week. She is the third Gator honored by the SEC in 2026 as Kyra Taylor (Offensive) and Jayden Emmanuel (Defensive) picked up the Aug. 24 awards.
Hill was the only freshman to earn a spot on the Oct. 13 Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week. Taylor also appeared on the Aug. 25 TDS Team of the Week as the national player of the week.
About Upcoming Opponents
No. 2 Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt was second in the 2025 Southeastern Conference regular-season with a 7-2-1 record and claimed the SEC Tournament title with a 8-7 penalty kick advantage over LSU. The Commodores were the SEC's farthest advancing team in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, losing 2-1 in overtime to TCU in the quarterfinal found.
The Commodores share the current SEC lead at 5-0-1 with South Carolina. Their winning percentage of 0.962 leads the nation and VU is one of the four NCAA Division I unbeaten teams. VU has faced two top-25 teams in 2026, defeating both then No. 21 Memphis (4-1) and at then No. 9 Tennessee (3-1). Senior Sydney Watts, the 2025 SEC Forward of the Year, leads the SEC in goals (5) and points (11) while freshman Mia Herbert is second in points (10) and shares second in goals (4). Graduate Alexa Gianoplus' four shutouts shares second in SEC action.
Two Commodores are on 2026 MAC Hermann Trophy Mid-Season Watch Lists – senior midfielder Courtney Jones and Watts.
Arkansas
Arkansas was picked to defend its 2025 SEC regular-season title in the 2026 SEC Coaches preseason poll. The Razorbacks posted a 10-5-4 record in 2025 and lost 1-0 in overtime to Washington in the NCAA Second Round.
The Razorback have faced three ranked teams in 2026, losing to both then No. 7 North Carolina 2-0 and at No. 10 Alabama 2-0. Arkansas opened league play with a 3-1 win versus then No. 19 Texas. Bella Field and Zoe Susi lead Arkansas in goals (4) and points (9). Junior Keegan Smith has started 11 matches in goal for the Razorbacks and owns a goals-against-average of 1.51.
Senior midfielder Kennedy Ball and forward Bella Field appear on the 2026 MAC Hermann Trophy watch list.
The Gators (6-4-3, 2-2-2 SEC) enter road action following a dramatic 1-0 victory over then-No. 5 Alabama. The win made Florida the nation's only team with two victories over top-five opponents this season.
Thursday's match at Vanderbilt (12-0-1, 5-0-1 SEC) will be Florida's fourth against an opponent ranked in the top five at the time of the meeting — the most among SEC teams.
Thursday, Oct. 15 at No. 2 Vanderbilt (12-0-1, 5-0-1 SEC)
Time/Site: 7 p.m. at Vanderbilt Soccer Complex
Streaming Video: SEC Network + Kevin Ingram and Kelly Williams with the call
Live Stats
Admission: $2
Sunday, Oct. 18 at Arkansas (4-4-4, 2-1-3 SEC)
Time/Site: 2:30 p.m. ET at Razorback Field
Streaming Video: SEC Network + Josh Haley and Kelly Roliard with the call
Live Stats
Admission: $16 – adult; $11 - youth
Did You Know?
- Top-five tests: Thursday's match at No. 2 Vanderbilt will be Florida's fourth against a top-five opponent this season, the most of any SEC team.
- A national first: Florida is the nation's only team with two wins over top-five opponents in 2026, defeating then-No. 3 Florida State 3-1 on Aug. 23 and then-No. 5 Alabama 1-0 on Oct. 8.
- A challenging SEC schedule: Four SEC teams appear in the Oct. 13 national top 25 — Vanderbilt, Alabama, South Carolina and Auburn. Florida and Tennessee are the only conference teams scheduled to face all four.
- Six ranked opponents: Wake Forest and Florida State also appear in the Oct. 13 poll, giving Florida an SEC-high six currently ranked opponents on its 2026 schedule.
- Top-10 experience: All but two SEC teams have faced a top-10 opponent or are scheduled to meet one this weekend.
Florida's Last Match
With just 93 seconds remaining, Lena Bailey delivered the finish Florida needed.
The senior raced onto a pass from Lael Hill, advanced to the top of the penalty area and sent a right-footed shot into the far corner, lifting Florida to a 1-0 victory over No. 5 Alabama on a rainy night at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
Bailey's goal at 88:27 handed Alabama its first SEC loss of the season and secured Florida's second victory over a top-five opponent in 2026.
The Gators also defeated then-No. 3 Florida State 3-1 on Aug. 23.
For Florida coach Nick Zimmerman, the winning goal was the response he had challenged his team to deliver at halftime.
"We felt like we've been playing really good fútbol, and we felt like the last performances have been really, really good. So just to see the players get the reward — they earned it. They took the game tonight," Zimmerman said. "In the past, we challenged them to take it. At half, we made it abundantly clear: We're going to see if we're ready to take that game. With a minute thirty, in that moment where we were under it for a little bit, to go back and take that game after the chance we had just missed — that's exceptional."
This marks just the third season in program history that Florida has defeated two top-five opponents.
1998 1-0 vs No. 2 Santa Clara 1-0 vs No. 1 North Carolina
2012 3-2 OT at No. 2 Duke 2-1 at No. 5 Texas A&M
2026 3-1 vs No. T3 Florida St 1-0 vs No. 5 Alabama
Weekly Honors
The two Gators who connected on the game-winning goal versus No. 5 Alabama – Lena Bailey and Lael Hill – earned weekly honors.
Bailey is the SEC Offensive Player of the Week. She is the third Gator honored by the SEC in 2026 as Kyra Taylor (Offensive) and Jayden Emmanuel (Defensive) picked up the Aug. 24 awards.
Hill was the only freshman to earn a spot on the Oct. 13 Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week. Taylor also appeared on the Aug. 25 TDS Team of the Week as the national player of the week.
About Upcoming Opponents
No. 2 Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt was second in the 2025 Southeastern Conference regular-season with a 7-2-1 record and claimed the SEC Tournament title with a 8-7 penalty kick advantage over LSU. The Commodores were the SEC's farthest advancing team in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, losing 2-1 in overtime to TCU in the quarterfinal found.
The Commodores share the current SEC lead at 5-0-1 with South Carolina. Their winning percentage of 0.962 leads the nation and VU is one of the four NCAA Division I unbeaten teams. VU has faced two top-25 teams in 2026, defeating both then No. 21 Memphis (4-1) and at then No. 9 Tennessee (3-1). Senior Sydney Watts, the 2025 SEC Forward of the Year, leads the SEC in goals (5) and points (11) while freshman Mia Herbert is second in points (10) and shares second in goals (4). Graduate Alexa Gianoplus' four shutouts shares second in SEC action.
Two Commodores are on 2026 MAC Hermann Trophy Mid-Season Watch Lists – senior midfielder Courtney Jones and Watts.
Arkansas
Arkansas was picked to defend its 2025 SEC regular-season title in the 2026 SEC Coaches preseason poll. The Razorbacks posted a 10-5-4 record in 2025 and lost 1-0 in overtime to Washington in the NCAA Second Round.
The Razorback have faced three ranked teams in 2026, losing to both then No. 7 North Carolina 2-0 and at No. 10 Alabama 2-0. Arkansas opened league play with a 3-1 win versus then No. 19 Texas. Bella Field and Zoe Susi lead Arkansas in goals (4) and points (9). Junior Keegan Smith has started 11 matches in goal for the Razorbacks and owns a goals-against-average of 1.51.
Senior midfielder Kennedy Ball and forward Bella Field appear on the 2026 MAC Hermann Trophy watch list.
Players Mentioned
Tuesday, October 13
Monday, October 12
Monday, October 12
Thursday, October 08
