Wednesday, August 5
Gainesville, FL
1 p.m.
Florida Gators
vs
Miami (Exhibition)
Florida soccer begins its first season with Head Coach Nick Zimmerman this week with a pair of home exhibition matches. Action begins Wednesday at 1 p.m. versus Miami and preseason exhibition play closes Saturday with a 4 p.m. match versus Florida International.
Two Home Exhibition Matches Start Gator Soccer’s 2026 Season
Monday, August 3, 2026 | Soccer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida soccer starts its first season under the direction of Head Coach Nick Zimmerman with two home exhibition matches in a four-day span. Action begins Wednesday afternoon at the Donald R. Dizney Stadium versus Miami. Then the Gators close pre-season action Saturday versus Florida International.
For Fans Attending the Miami and FIU Exhibitions:
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 emerged as a consistent national contender, capturing the program's first SEC championship in 2024 with a perfect 10-0 conference record and advancing to the last four NCAA Tournaments.
In his first season as a head coach in 2025, Zimmerman guided the Bulldogs to a 12-7-1 record. Only 15 percent of NCAA Division I women's soccer programs reached 12 or more 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 vs. Miami | Wed., Aug. 5 at 1 p.m. | Dizney Stadium | Free admission |
| Florida vs. FIU | Sat., Aug. 8 at 4 p.m. | Dizney Stadium | Free admission |
For Fans Attending the Miami and FIU Exhibitions:
- Dizney Stadium gates open 60 minutes prior to match time
- Admission is free for all Florida soccer regular-season matches
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 emerged as a consistent national contender, capturing the program's first SEC championship in 2024 with a perfect 10-0 conference record and advancing to the last four NCAA Tournaments.
In his first season as a head coach in 2025, Zimmerman guided the Bulldogs to a 12-7-1 record. Only 15 percent of NCAA Division I women's soccer programs reached 12 or more 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 and advanced to the Southeastern Conference Tournament. The Gators bring back 13 of their 26 goals from 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 senior Jayden Emmanuel and redshirt junior Paloma Peña.
- 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
Players Mentioned
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