Entering Thursday, Florida was winless in its previous 10 meetings against South Carolina and was hoping for long-awaited revenge. UF hadn’t found the back of the net in its previous four meetings against USC.
Unfortunately for Florida, it will have to wait another year.
The Gators failed to notch a goal for the first time all season as No. 19 South Carolina (7-1) cruised to a 1-0 victory over No. 23 Florida (4-3-1) on Thursday in Columbia, South Carolina. UF dropped to 19-9-4 in Southeastern Conference openers and suffered their second-consecutive loss to a ranked opponent.
Florida’s high press was immediately on display. In the second minute, forward Addy Hess recorded the first shot of the match, sending it over the Gamecocks’ goal. The Gators continued to apply pressure and earned the first corner of the match shortly after but couldn’t capitalize.
The defensive-to-attacking transition that had been emphasized throughout practice all week nearly paid off when midfielder Kelsey Smith found herself with space during a quick transition.
The redshirt senior put a shot on target, but South Carolina goalkeeper Christina Tsaousis made a routine save for her first stop of the day.
In the 10th minute, against the run of play, South Carolina earned a pair of corners. However, both were poorly taken, resulting in Florida goal kicks.
By the 18th minute, South Carolina had earned three more corners and nearly won a penalty kick after senior defender Hannah Jibril made contact with South Carolina’s Reagan Schubach. However, the referee ruled the contact occurred well after the ball had been crossed into the 18-yard box, and play continued.
Moments later, it appeared Maryn Wolf had put the Gamecocks ahead after Sydney Middaugh’s cross was punched out by Florida goalkeeper Jayden Emmanuel and deflected off Wolf into the back of the net.
But after a VAR review, it was determined the ball had struck Wolf’s hand, resulting in a no-goal decision.
That didn’t faze the Gamecocks, who began controlling possession and consistently applied pressure in the Gators’ half.
Middaugh nearly put South Carolina in front after playing a cross into the box, but her attempt sailed wide right of Florida’s net.
In the 29th minute, Middaugh won a free kick for South Carolina and delivered a quality cross into the box, but Schubach’s header sailed well over the Florida net.
Roughly 25 minutes after its previous shot, Florida finally created another opportunity. Jibril had a chance to equalize, but her shot was pulled wide left of the goal.
Heading into the match, Florida led the SEC in fouls committed and continued its physical play in the opening 45 minutes, committing six fouls.
Six minutes before halftime, South Carolina found the opening goal. Senior forward Autumn Cayelli fired a shot from the left side of the box, forcing Emmanuel into a diving save. The rebound fell directly to midfielder Reese Slater, who tapped it in to put South Carolina ahead 1-0.
The goal was Slater’s second of the season, and for the second consecutive match, UF conceded first.
Shortly after, Florida mounted a counterattack, and senior forward Zoe Main found space outside the box and decided to take a shot. Her attempt looked nearly perfect but trickled over the crossbar for a South Carolina goal kick.
Florida then had an excellent opportunity to equalize seconds before halftime. Main and Tatum Borman both recorded shots, but Tsaousis made two quality saves to keep the Gators scoreless heading into the break.
At the end of the period, Florida outshot South Carolina 9-8, but the statistic that stood out most was the Gamecocks’ 9-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Straight out of the break, Smith found space in the box and fired a shot that earned the Gators their third corner of the night. Florida was unable to capitalize on the ensuing set piece.
The first 10 minutes of the second half saw both teams feeling each other out, with neither side producing a clear scoring chance.
South Carolina then earned a free kick in a dangerous area for a cross, but the Gamecocks were unable to get a shot off. Instead, Emmanuel fell on the ball with excellent awareness in goal.
Despite the result, Florida’s backline was phenomenal in the defeat, particularly the center-back duo of junior Skye Barnes and freshman Lael Hill. Whenever the Gamecocks sniffed an opportunity, the pair was there to limit it.
By the 65th minute, neither team had recorded a shot in the half. The match remained physical, with Barnes receiving a yellow card after a dangerous challenge on a Gamecock.
In the 72nd minute, South Carolina had an excellent chance to extend its lead after winning a free kick outside the Gators’ 18-yard box. Midfielder Cuyler Zulauf took the kick, but it went directly into Florida’s wall.
With 15 minutes remaining, senior forward Lena Bailey won a free kick off the left side of the box, but Florida couldn’t take advantage.
Time was running out for the Gators to find a late equalizer. Main had the final chance with 15 seconds remaining, but her team-high fifth shot of the match sailed wide, ending Florida’s comeback hopes.
Florida continues conference play next Friday against Mississippi State (6-1). Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at MSU Soccer Field.
Contact Zach Moore at zmoore@alligator.org. Follow him on X @zach_moore27.
Zach is a junior sports journalism student in his third semester at The Alligator. He currently covers soccer for the Fall 2026 season after previously serving as the softball reporter. Zach also has experience as a play-by-play broadcaster in the Florida Collegiate Summer League for the Winter Garden Squeeze. In his free time, Zach enjoys going to the gym and watching sports, especially his favorite teams: the Minnesota Vikings, Arsenal FC, Houston Astros, Orlando Magic and Orlando City SC. A fun fact about Zach is that he is also an avid WWE fan.
