Nick Zimmerman went 12-7-1 in 2025 and guided Mississippi State to a fourth straight NCAA Tournament in his lone season as coach of the Bulldogs. [Photo: Mia Tunon]
Zimmerman, Gators Set to Gauge 'Process' in Debut at UCF
Wednesday, August 12, 2026 | Soccer, Chris Harry
Share:
By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Late in the first half Saturday, Nick Zimmerman watched from the Florida sideline as his first Gators team executed a sequence against Florida International the likes of which it could not have done better in a skeleton drill at practice with no defenders.
Avery Upton initiated the action from her defensive spot out wide, playing it back to Mia Gray, who tapped to fellow midfielder Sophia Sindelar. From there, Sindelar dribble-penetrated into the FIU defense. Her pass back to forward Lena Bailey was instantly squared to forward Kyra Taylor, who drilled the ball past the Panthers keeper for the team's fifth goal of the opening period.
The Gators went on to a 7-1 victory with goals from seven different players. Sure, it was an exhibition game, but it also was the most goals scored by a UF team since an 8-0 defeat of Stetson on Aug. 27, 2023 (a run of 53 games, including seven exhibitions).
"I've seriously had multiple student-athletes who came to our exhibition say it was the funnest soccer they've watched in their lives," said Sindelar, the sophomore and one of a handful of returnees from last season's 6-7-5 campaign. "That was such a great feeling, as a player, to hear that coming from them." Paloma Peña
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Paloma Peña put the offensive eruption in different terms.
"Didn't we score like four goals one season?" she asked.
No, it wasn't that dire, but the Gators did total only 13 goals back in 2024, including just three in Southeastern Conference play. The Gators doubled that goal output last season, but UF, in fact, averaged less than one goal per game (0.89) over the previous four seasons. That's why Zimmerman, who helped work wonders at Mississippi State, first as associate head coach and then last season as head coach, was brought on last winter to resurrect a once-dominant Florida program that had gone into a freefall — 28-54-25 over the last six seasons, with no NCAA appearances — under three different coaches since 2020.
It'll be a solid barometer, as far as gauging the program's starting point.
"I understand that everybody wants Florida to get back to what Florida was. We want that more than anything," said Zimmerman, who was part of a MSU staff that guided the Bulldogs to an unbeaten '24 conference season, then led the program to a fourth straight NCAA Tournament in his lone year as head coach in '25. "But where we were when we first got here last December and where we are now is a process."
The word "process" comes up a lot when talking to Zimmerman, but it's also echoed by his players. That would suggest everyone is moving in the same direction.
"We want to be multi-dimensional and dominate in all phases and to do that you have to lock in on the process," said senior defender Hannah Jibril, who followed Zimmerman from Mississippi State. "That has to be day to day. We control that."
CHARTING THE GATORS A look at UF's results (and struggles on offense) since last reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2019.
Year
Coach
Record
SEC
Goals
* 2020-21
Becky Burleigh
6-8-3
1-6-1
32
2021
Tony Amato
4-12-4
3-6-1
22
2022
Samantha Bohon
2-14-1
0-9-1
16
2023
Bohon
6-5-6
2-4-4
24
2024
Bohon
4-8-6
1-7-2
13
2025
Bohon
6-7-5
2-3-5
26
* Split season due to Covid.
From Day 1, Zimmerman and his staff have been about playing with a ferocious tempo and emphasizing possessing the ball to point of exhausting the opponent. The Gators had a chance to roll out their wares in exhibitions against Miami and FIU last week.
The eruption of offense in the latter was encouraging to see, but now comes the real thing.
"Everybody loves it when it's 7-1," Zimmerman said. "What about when it's 1-1?"
They're about to find out.
During the spring season and into fall practice, the new UF staff installed its aggressive, squeezing, pressing and counter-pressing system of offense. Zimmerman is a devil with the details and promised to drill his players to the point they will be able to execute with their eyes closed.
Along the way, in embracing "the process," the team learned other buzz phrases like "Go again!" (as in, shake off the good or bad and move on) and "competitive ruthlessness" (self-explanatory).
"We had to get comfortable in the uncomfortable," Sindelar said. "This style of play, which is a complete 180 from how we played before, was a very transformational experience."
Midfielder Sophia Sindelar(17) in action during Saturday's scrimmage against FIU. Photo by Mia Tunon
Peña started 17 matches last season and was the keeper of record in a 0-0 tie of No. 4 Tennessee, one of the highlights of the last several seasons. From her place in the box, she now watches her teammates advance the ball with more of a purpose – "We like to build," she said --- and with more rhythm and movement that opens spaces (and attack opportunities) for different players in all spots on the field.
Heck, Pena is sometimes charged with initiating offense and has been told she might even be in the goal-scoring mix at some point this season.
"It's exciting," Pena said of the run-up to real-game week. "A lot is on the line now, so it'll be great to see how far we've come. We're ready to let everyone know that Gator soccer is back."
Whether that's truly the case won't necessarily be determined by Thursday's outcome. Or by the Aug. 20 home opener against Coastal Carolina, the Aug. 23 home date against juggernaut Florida State or even the SEC opener next month at South Carolina.
Hannah Jibrilon the move last Saturday versus FIU. Photo by Mia Tunon
Remember, it's a process. Who the Gators are Thursday night in Orlando won't be who they are in the weeks and months from now.
"We want to see them compete with belief and commitment to the action," Zimmerman said of his opening-night expectations. "There are going to be mistakes. It's not going to be pretty. The first 15 minutes are going to be carnage. It's going to be chaotic."
And, in time, Zimmerman and his Gators believe it's going to fun.
