Florida Heads to Vanderbilt After Upset Win Over Alabama
Florida Gators soccer is back on the road again after two consecutive games at home. The Gators are headed to Nashville to take on No. 3 Vanderbilt (12-0-1, 5-0-1 SEC) at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
The Gators (6-4-3, 2-2-2 SEC) have had a turbulent season, often outshooting their opponents and displaying strong offensive pressure but without the goals or wins to show for it.
Vanderbilt is coming off a road win against Missouri (3-8-2, 0-5-1 SEC), extending its win streak to five games. The Commodores are efficient in their offense, averaging 8.62 shots on goal to the Gators’ 7.69 shots on goal. They have taken 225 shots to Florida’s 229 but have managed to put 112 on target versus the Gators’ 100. Vanderbilt leads the SEC in average goals per game with 3.385; the Gators sit at 2.231 average goals per game. Vanderbilt has a goal save percentage of .786 to the Gators’ .609 percentage.
Against Texas A&M (4-9, 0-6 SEC) on Sept. 27, the Gators hit an offensive stride and scored five goals to the Aggies’ two goals. It seemed to be a turning point for the team and coach Nick Zimmerman’s strategy of offensive pressure and high shot volume. However, when LSU (3-8-3, 1-3-2 SEC) came to town, the Gators found themselves in a familiar position, outshooting the Tigers 18-2 but losing the game 2-1.
On Oct. 8, Florida took on then ranked No. 5 Alabama (12-2, 5-1 SEC), once again finding success against a top five team–the Gators also beat then ranked No. 3 Florida State back in August–with senior Lena Bailey’s late goal in the 89th minute. The win against Alabama makes the Gators the first team in the nation to have two wins against top five opponents this season.
“At the half, we made it abundantly clear we’re gonna see if we’re ready to take that game,” said coach Zimmerman. “And with a minute thirty, in that moment..to go back and take that game after the chance we just missed, that’s exceptional.”
Historically, the Gators have 28 wins and only six losses to Vanderbilt, however, in the last five matchups, Florida has gone 0-2-3 against the Commodores. The last matchup against them was in 2024 where the Gators lost 2-0.
With another match against a top opponent coming up fast, the Gators are determined to settle into their game. “Every day we go in and we do what we do,” said goalkeeper Jayden Emmanuel. “It doesn’t really matter who we play, we’re always going to give it our best and play to the best of our abilities.”
Kickoff for the game is set for 7 p.m. in Nashville, Tennessee.
Category: Gator Sports, Gators Soccer
