Thursday night’s SEC matchup was a dogfight from the opening whistle, and heavy rain throughout the day in Gainesville set the stage for sloppy conditions on the pitch.
For much of the 90 minutes, it appeared Florida and Alabama would settle for a scoreless draw. But Florida senior forward Lena Bailey had other plans.
In the 88th minute, Bailey received a long cross from freshman defender Lael Hill, leaving her one-on-one with an Alabama defender. She dribbled onto her right foot and fired a shot past the diving reach of Alabama junior goalkeeper Madi Munguia to seal Florida’s second top-10 victory of the season.
Behind Bailey’s late goal, Florida (6-4-3, 2-2-2 SEC) defeated No. 5 Alabama (12-2, 5-1 SEC) 1-0 at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
“Me and Lael have been practicing that every day,” Bailey said. “So just seeing it come right over the top, it was amazing.”
Florida applied pressure early, recording the first two shots of the match. Senior forward Kyra Taylor, who missed a majority of the previous match after sustaining an injury in training, had her attempt blocked by an Alabama defender.
Moments later, sophomore midfielder Tatum Borman dribbled into space outside the 18-yard box, but her right-footed shot sailed wide.
Coming off a goal against Louisiana State, senior forward Zoe Main made a run down the right side of the box and recorded the match’s first shot on goal. Munguia, a three-time SEC Defensive Player of the Week, handled the attempt for her first save.
In the sixth minute, redshirt sophomore forward Addy Hess tested Munguia with a curling shot that forced the goalkeeper to use both hands for her second save of the night.
Alabama responded through junior forward Larkin Thomason, its leading scorer. Thomason fired two shots roughly 30 seconds apart, but Florida redshirt senior goalkeeper Jayden Emmanuel stopped both for her first two saves.
In the 17th minute, Florida nearly took the lead. With Bailey alongside her, Main challenged an Alabama defender inside the box before passing to Hess for a tap-in. However, Bailey had touched the ball from an offside position moments before Main’s pass, disallowing the goal.
In the 26th minute, Main had a prime opportunity to put Florida ahead when Bailey’s pass deflected off Alabama defender Leah Klurman and fell to her feet with only the goalkeeper to beat. Main dribbled to her right but sent her shot wide of Alabama’s goal.
In the 36th minute, Alabama sophomore forward Reece Ward found space outside Florida’s penalty box and curled a right-footed shot just wide of the net.
By halftime, Florida had controlled the majority of possession and outshot Alabama 8-5. Playing conditions worsened as rain continued to fall, leaving the field soaked while both teams regrouped during the break.
Alabama created the first chance of the second half when a deflected pass fell to sophomore midfielder Olivia Belcher at the edge of the 18-yard box. Belcher fired a right-footed shot that curled wide of the Gators’ net.
In the 49th minute, Thomason received her second yellow card of the season for a dangerous challenge on Hill.
Moments later, Borman found Bailey unmarked on the right side of the penalty box. Bailey took a touch before attempting a right-footed shot, but she sent it wide off the outside of her foot.
Both teams continued to battle for possession, conceding little space. By the 57th minute, the teams had combined for 12 fouls.
In the 60th minute, Hill connected with a cross from Main, but her flick-on header sailed over the crossbar, bringing Florida’s shot total to 12.
With 20 minutes remaining, play stopped for a VAR review of a potential foul by UF redshirt sophomore defender Norah Abbot. Video evidence showed Abbot won the ball on her challenge, and no foul was called.
Alabama pressed for the go-ahead goal, but Florida’s stifling defense frustrated the Crimson Tide as the Gators’ back line delivered its best performance of the season.
“The whole group were warriors today," Head coach Nick Zimmerman said. "What a performance overall. Just incredibly proud.
In the 82nd minute, Abbott committed a late foul on Alabama senior forward Kennedy Garcia, receiving the Gators’ first yellow card of the night.
A minute later, Crimson Tide midfielder Zamorah Malinoski cut to her right and fired a shot that sailed just over the crossbar. Still pressing, Thomason recorded her team-high fourth shot of the match, firing just wide of Florida’s left post.
With time ticking, Florida midfielder Adia Symmonds delivered a picture-perfect pass to Borman, who was wide open on the left side of the box. But Borman rushed her effort and skied it over the goal.
Following Bailey’s late goal, the Gators held on for their second victory over a top-10 opponent this season.
Florida travels to No. 3 Vanderbilt (11-0-1) on Thursday, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. at Vanderbilt Soccer Complex.
"We’ve been playing really good football," Zimmerman said. "It felt like the last performances have been really, really good. To see the players get the reward, they earned it.”
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.
