Coming off a two-game winning streak, the Florida Gators soccer team dropped its first home game this season in crunch time against the Central Florida Knights.
With three minutes remaining in the match, UCF senior forward Rajana Reed fired to the bottom left of the net, slipping past UF junior goalkeeper Jayden Emmanuel to give the Knights the late lead.
Florida (2-2) dropped its first home game of the season 1-0 in the final minutes against Central Florida (5-0) on Thursday night.
“That’s just how the ball bounced tonight,” head coach Samatha Bohon said. “It didn’t bounce our way tonight, and that’s really unfortunate.”
It was a busy night for all three goalkeepers in the match. UCF redshirt sophomore goalie Genesis Perez Watson, who has played every minute in goal this season, finished with six saves. Florida redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Paloma Peña and Emmanuel both finished with two saves.
It took just two minutes for the Knights to get their first corner kick, but the ball was caught by Peña.
Both teams began trading chances for the next five minutes of play. Another opportunity arose for UCF at the three-minute mark, but the shot by UCF sophomore midfielder Ainsley Moy was saved by Peña to the bottom right of the net. Meanwhile, the Gators had their first chance eight minutes in, with UF freshman forward Kai Tsakiris firing from outside the box. However, the shot was saved by Perez Watson.
The Knights had a great look of their own at the 26-minute mark, but Reed’s shot was saved in the middle of the net by Peña.
The Gators responded with a chance of their own. Just a minute after Reed’s attempt, senior midfielder Charlotte McClure’s only shot of the game traveled to the right of the net.
Florida had another window to score at the 32-minute mark. The free kick attempt by freshman forward Katie Johnston found sophomore defender Abby Gemma right in front of the net, but her header attempt was saved by Perez Watson, who finished the half with five saves.
“You’re not going to get a ton of good chances,” Bohon said. “But I think we did a good job of that.”
Two more opportunities sprung at the 36 and 40 minute marks. UF junior forward Lena Bailey’s chance was saved in the bottom right of the net by Watson. She saved the other attempt from freshman forward Katie Johnston in the bottom right of the net.
Despite Florida outshooting UCF 8-3 in the first half, UF failed to convert, causing both teams to head into the half scoreless.
The Knights had momentum early in the second half, with an attempt by junior midfielder Honoka Hamano. The ball hit the crossbar and landed back in play in front of the net, but it was cleared by Florida’s defense.
UF senior forward Njeri Butts was the first to have a shot at goal after recovering the ball from a corner at minute 56, but her shot sailed over the top crossbar.
Just two minutes later, UF junior forward Amelia Malkin followed with a chance of her own for the Gators, but once again, the shot flew over the top of the net.
In the final two quarters, possession was back and forth as both teams continued to pounce on offense, hoping to get on the scoreboard.
Butts’ came close in the last 30 minutes, but her attempt was blocked by Perez Watson and trickled out of bounds to the left of the net.
With just 15 minutes left of play, UF junior goalkeeper Jayden Emmanuel blocked a shot fired right in front of the net by UCF sophomore midfielder Katsi Bengoa.
“Really happy with their adjustment from first half to second half,” said Bohon. “For us to out-possess them, I think speaks volumes to this group.”
Although Emmanuel blocked two more chances by UCF in the last five minutes, one ball eventually found its way through to the back of the net.
“We have to build on this,” Bohon said. “We did enough tonight to win and certainly not lose.”
Florida kicks off road action against the Maryland Terrapins (4-1) at noon Sunday in College Park, Maryland.
Contact Adrian Carmona at acarmona@alligator.org. Follow him on X @abcarmona04.
Adrian Carmona is a third-year journalism major and the Summer 2025 baseball reporter. In his spare time, he enjoys completing Sporcle quizzes and ranting about Miami sports.
