Surrounded by a crowd of 1,143 fans, the Florida Gators soccer team took the pitch in hopes of keeping its undefeated record alive.
Both teams played with aggression, fighting to maintain possession of the ball. As the clock kept ticking with two minutes remaining, Florida left it all out on the field.
However, Florida (1-0-2) wasn’t able to come away with a go-ahead goal in the final minutes of a tie against UCF (1-0-2) at Donald R. Dizney Stadium Sunday.
"Look at the difference between a tie here and a tie on Thursday night," Bohon said. "I was really proud of the way our team responded. We were not pleased with our Thursday performance in a lot of ways and so it was good to see our players come out and fight."
Just minutes into the match, freshman Vera Blom received the ball on a free kick, but missed the goal out right. Shortly after, the Gators had a second free kick that gave them an opportunity at the goal, but UCF goalkeeper Sami Lipcon saved it.
Florida had an unsteady start defensively, struggling to connect on passes and making mistakes in the backline that built momentum for UCF.
UCF sophomore midfielder Honoka Hamano had a shot on goal seven minutes in, but it was saved by graduate student goalkeeper Alexa Goldberg.
Sophomore forward Lena Bailey made a pass to sophomore forward/midfielder Delaney Tellex for a shot at goal, but it missed and led to a corner kick. Redshirt sophomore midfielder Madison Jones took the corner, allowing senior midfielder Lauren Donovan to get her head on the ball, but her attempt missed.
Less than a minute later, UCF countered the Gators with a goal from UCF senior forward Chloe Netzel to give the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead.
Tellex connected on multiple passes and created prolific plays offensively.
Senior defender Madison Young eventually scored off a corner kick, but it was called offside shortly after.
Florida picked up its pace, putting pressure on UCF in the last 16 minutes. Graduate student defender Daviana Vaka was issued a yellow card for a hard foul.
At minute 14:38, the game was temporarily suspended due to weather conditions.
Immediately after the game resumed, sophomore forward Amelia Malkin landed a shot on goal, but UCF goalkeeper Sami Lipcon saved it.
UCF senior midfielder Annika Huhta took a free kick just outside the penalty box, but hit the crossbar.
With two minutes left in the first half, Tellex played the ball to Blom, who scored her first collegiate goal to tie the game 1-1 by a cut on the ball to beat Lipcon in a one-on-one.
“That assist from Tellex and then the first touch from Vera, and the composure to be able to finish under pressure was just the world class goal,” UF head coach Samantha Bohon said.
The second half had spectators on the edge of their seats, with both Florida and UCF maintaining possession.
Freshman midfielder Norah Abbott had two close shots on goal that didn’t find the back of the net. Sophomore forward Amelia Malkin also had a shot on goal, but it was saved.
At minute 30:51, Netzel was left unmarked on the left and seized the opportunity to score, putting UCF ahead of the Gators, 2-1.
Junior forward Njeri Butts played the ball to Donovan who headed it at the goal, but Lipcon came away with the save.
Following a mistake made by a UCF defender, Florida redshirt junior Sophie White got the ball ahead of UCF’s defense. White, coming back from her second ACL injury, scored her second collegiate goal in a one-on-one with Lipcon to tie the match, 2-2.
“Just pure relief and joy,” White said. ”Just to be able to be back on that field and do it for my team, do it for my coaches, do it for God and everyone else. It was just pure joy.”
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Jayden Emmanuel made a crucial save with 12 minutes left in the half on a shot attempt by Netzel.
The match became more aggressive as each team fought to break the draw. There were nine fouls made by both teams, with Young, Huhta, UCF redshirt sophomore midfielder Daniella Chung and UCF freshman midfielder Ella Holloran receiving yellow cards.
Tellex was fouled outside the penalty box with six minutes left in the match, but Lipcon saved the free kick taken by Jones.
As the clock kept ticking with two minutes remaining, Florida left it all out on the field. Abbott, itching for another goal, took the final shot but it was saved as the Gators were unable to bury a game-winning goal.
Florida will face Georgia State (0-1-1) on the road at 6 p.m. in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday.
Contact Amanda Roman at aroman@alligator.org. Follow her on X @mandy_romannn
Amanda Roman is a sophomore sports journalism major and the Spring 2025 women's basketball reporter. This is her second semester at the sports desk for The Alligator, and she previously interned for Fort Lauderdale United FC. In her free time, she enjoys lifting, shopping and reading.
