Florida forward/midfielder Kai Tsakiris (2) consoles midfielder/forward Charlotte McClure (8) in the loss to Arkansas on Thursday at Donald R. Dizney Stadium. [Matthew Lewis/WRUF]

No. 9 Arkansas Stalls Gators Soccer’s Rally Attempt

Florida soccer experienced their first taste of SEC play this season, battling against a physical Arkansas Razorbacks team at Dizney Stadium.

The No. 9 Razorbacks showed why they are one of the top teams in the nation and the SEC preseason favorites by taking a 3-2 win against the Gators (0-1 SEC, 4-4).

Florida midfielder Madison Jones (10) watches the ball Thursday against Arkansas at Dizney Stadium. [Matthew Lewis/WRUF]

Just four minutes into the game Thursday freshmen Nuria Craig lofted the ball over Florida’s Paloma Pena to put the Razorbacks up 1-0.

After going ahead, the Razorbacks (1-0, 3-2-2) kept the pressure on the young Gator team.

However, Florida was not the only team on the field with freshmen talent.

At the 35th-minute mark of the contest, Arkansas’ freshmen forward Vailana Tu’ua struck the ball across her body and tucked it home into the bottom right corner.

Less than a minute later, Florida fans experienced deja vu.

Tu’ua then struck the ball with her left foot and tucked it away into the bottom right corner for her second goal of the game.

“I think we made some bad decisions individually and that cost us,” Florida coach Samantha Bohon said.

Florida went into intermission down 3-0 after being outclassed for a half.

“I don’t think I can share too much of it,” Bohon said of her halftime speech.

However, the inexperienced Gators seemed to catch up to the pace of the SEC in the second half.

Two minutes from the restart, freshman Kai Tsakiris drove into the box and was taken down from behind.

Stepping up to finish what she started, Tsakiris put the ball in the bottom corner and just out of the reach of Arkansas keeper Keegan Smith.

The Gators kept pushing and were able to win a corner in the 68th minute when the ball struck Arkansas senior Makenzie Malham’s arm. Referee Mario Macic went to video assisted replay to confirm the decision.

After confirmation of the penalty, Madison Jones tucked the ball into the bottom right corner to pull the Gators to within one.

With just over a minute to go, redshirt freshmen Addy Hess was played in through on-goal and had the chance to tie the game. But Smith came up with her biggest save of the game to keep the door shut.

“I believe in this group, I think they can do some really special things this year,” Bohon said in staying positive.

The Gators’ next three games come against ranked opponents (No. 20 Oklahoma, No. 17 South Carolina and No. 24 Georgia.)

“I think this group is going to learn from this and we’ll get better for Oklahoma,” Bohon said.

The Gators travel to take on the Sooners next Thursday, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. (SEC Network).

Gators Soccer Head Coach Samantha Bohon after Florida’s 3-2 loss to Arkansas Thursday night.

Read a full recap of the match on https://t.co/kXtfdgVHHa pic.twitter.com/4Ez6hvLeeN

— David (@davidaalopezz) September 12, 2025

Category: Gator Sports, Gators Soccer, SEC