Gators Set for Senior Night, Top-Five Test at Dizney

Thursday, September 3

Gainesville, FL

6:30 p.m.

Florida Gators

Youngstown State

2026 Florida soccer senior class - front row (from left): Kelsey Smith, Emma Duval, Montelene Dymond, Kyra Taylor, Zoe Main. Back row: Jayden Emmanuel, Lena Bailey, Hannah Jibril, Avery Upton and Paris Bice.

Florida's 10-member senior class will be honored at Thursday's match versus Youngstown State. Then No. 21 Florida plays host to No. 5 Wake Forest Sunday at noon. Front row (from left): Kelsey Smith, Emma Duval, Montelene Dymond, Kyra Taylor, Zoe Main. Back row: Jayden Emmanuel, Lena Bailey, Hannah Jibril, Avery Upton and Paris Bice.

Gators Set for Senior Night, Top-Five Test at Dizney

Tuesday, September 1, 2026 | Soccer

By: Mary Howard

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 21 Florida (3-1-1, 0-0 SEC) opens September with its final two nonconference matches, beginning Thursday, Sept. 3, against Youngstown State at Dizney Stadium.

Thursday's match is Senior Night, with Florida recognizing the careers of 10 seniors: Lena Bailey, Paris Bice, Emma Duval, Montelene Dymond, Jayden Emmanuel, Hannah Jibril, Zoe Main, Kelsey Smith, Kyra Taylor and Avery Upton.

The Gators then welcome another top-five opponent to Dizney Stadium, as No. 5 and undefeated Wake Forest visits Sunday, Sept. 6.

Florida and UCLA are the only teams to face two top-five opponents through the first weekend of September. Florida defeated No. 3 Florida State and will face No. 5 Wake Forest, while UCLA tied No. 3 Duke and lost to No. 1 Stanford.

Thursday, Sept. 3 versus Youngstown State
Time/Site: 6:30 p.m. at Donald R. Dizney Stadium
Streaming Video: SEC Network + Announcers: Ryan Urquhart and Matthew Stubbington
ESPN 98.1 FM / 850 AM WRUF Announcers: Sky Lebron and Nevada Cullen
Live Stats
Admission: Free
Promotions: Make some noise for the Gators! The first 150 fans receive free Thundersticks so your support be heard! Senior Night: Stick around after the match as Florida celebrates its senior class with a special Senior Night ceremony.

Sunday, Sept. 6 versus No. 5 Wake Forest
Time/Site: Noon at Donald R. Dizney Stadium
Streaming Video: SEC Network + Announcers: Ryan Urquhart and Matthew Stubbington
ESPN 98.1 FM / 850 AM WRUF Announcers: Sky Lebron and Nevada Cullen
Live Stats
Admission: Free
Promotions: Alumni Day - Gators Soccer welcomes alumni back to The Diz! Come early and get the fun started before Florida takes on Wake Forest. Young Gator fans can visit the face painter, get a balloon animal and have some fun in the Kids Zone!

Admission is free for all Gator soccer regular-season home matches. 2026 Florida Soccer Promotions

Did You Know?
Five of the six wins this season over United Soccer Coaches top-10 programs were recorded by teams that were unranked at the time of the match.

Aug. 12 Baylor at No. 10 Arkansas (4-1)
Aug. 12 BYU at No. 9 UCLA (2-1)
Aug. 19 Wisconsin versus No. 9 BYU (1-0)
Aug. 23 Texas State at No. 6 Baylor (3-1)
Aug. 23 Florida versus No. T3 Florida State (3-1)

The season's other top-10 loss came in a matchup between two top-10 teams:
Aug. 23 No. 5 Michigan St. at No. 7 North Carolina (3-2 MSU win)

Florida's Last Match:
No. 20 Florida and Florida Atlantic tied 1-1 on Aug. 30 in Boca Raton, Fla.

After a scoreless opening half, sophomore Addy Hess put the Gators on the board early in the second half.

Kyra Taylor's deep centering cross found Hess at the top of the six-yard box. With a swipe of her right foot, Hess scored her first goal of the season at 48:05.

Florida Atlantic tied the match in the 63rd minute when Hailey Santiago scored just inside the near post on a one-on-one opportunity.

Each team entered Sunday's match coming off a sizable shutout win Thursday. Florida defeated Jacksonville 6-0, while Florida Atlantic beat Howard 7-0.

Both teams had opportunities to find the go-ahead goal. Florida's final chance came on its 12th corner kick in the 89th minute, when Lael Hill's header hit the crossbar.

The crossbar also denied an early Gator opportunity, as Hess hit the bar with a header in the second minute. The Gators outshot the Owls 18-10, including an 11-5 advantage in shots on goal.

About Upcoming Opponents:
About Youngstown State (0-4-1, 0-0 Horizon League)
Youngstown State posted an 8-10-2 record in 2025 and finished third in the Horizon League with a 6-2-2 league mark. The Penguins are picked third in the Horizon League preseason coaches poll.

YSU opened 2026 with road losses at Pittsburgh (2-1) and Indiana (3-1) before opening home action with a 1-1 tie against Kent State. The past two Sundays, Youngstown State lost to Eastern Kentucky (4-0) and at Miami (Ohio) (2-0).

Three returning Penguins earned 2025 All-Horizon League honors — Camille Bultel, Sara Felder and Kamryn Rosa. Rosa also was named the league's Freshman of the Year.

About No. 5 Wake Forest (5-0-0, 0-0 ACC)
Wake Forest posted an 11-5-4 record in 2025 and finished ninth in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 4-3-3 league mark. The Demon Deacons were among nine ACC teams to advance to the 2025 NCAA Tournament, losing 1-0 at Michigan State in the second round. WFU is picked seventh in the ACC preseason coaches poll.

The Demon Deacons opened the season with five consecutive shutout home wins — against then-No. 16 LSU (2-0), RV South Carolina (3-0), RV Iowa (2-0), Old Dominion (1-0) and Portland (2-0). Through Aug. 30, Wake Forest is one of seven teams nationally yet to concede a goal in 2026.

Sophomore forward Kylie Maxwell was named to the 2026 Preseason All-ACC team. Senior goalkeeper Valentina Amaral was named to the 2026 Hermann Trophy Watch List on Aug. 26. Junior defender Sierra Sythe played a part in both goals in the win against Portland, scoring the first and assisting on the other to earn a spot on the Sept. 1 TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week.