It was a sunny afternoon at Donald R. Dizney Stadium, as the Florida Gators soccer team looked to earn their first conference victory of the season and pull off the upset against the No. 15 South Carolina Gamecocks following three straight losses.
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Paloma Peña had a career day, finishing with a season-high six saves and recording the first solo shutout of her career.
“I was just really proud of my back line, and it honestly made my job way easier,” Peña said. “All I had to do was make the save, which is what I’m here to do.”
While they didn’t leave with the win, the Gators (4-1-5, 0-1-2 SEC) drew 0-0 against the No. 15 South Carolina Gamecocks (8-2-1, 2-1-0 SEC) Sunday.
“I feel like we’ve played the last three games deserving some sort of result,” head coach Samantha Bohon said. “It was nice to see it finally come.”
Florida had one of its best defensive performances of the season. Despite conceding 12 shots and nine corner attempts, the Gator defense held strong, not allowing a single goal to the Gamecocks, who scored four in their last game against the Ole Miss Rebels.
The Gamecocks earned the first shot of the match at the 3-minute mark. Sophomore forward Katie Shea Collins dribbled in front of the net off a free kick and fired to the bottom center of the net, but the shot was blocked by Peña.
Peña had another clutch save at minute 7, as she leaped to block a shot from Gamecocks junior midfielder Maggie Taitano.
Florida’s first opportune look came at minute 14. Freshman forward Kai Tsakiris stepped in front of the net but fired outside to the left of the goal.
Collins responded with an attempt at the 18-minute mark, but Peña once again came up big, diving in front of the ball to block the try.
The Gators didn’t earn another shot attempt until there were 18 minutes left in the first half. Senior midfielder Charlotte McClure fired from deep beyond the box, but the shot from her right foot flew over the crossbar.
South Carolina had its best look of the first half with a minute and a half remaining, but the shot from junior midfielder Autumn Cayelli brushed above the top of the goal.
Despite the Gamecocks outshooting Florida 8-3 in the first half and attempting seven corners to UF’s zero, both defenses held strong as the teams went into the break scoreless.
The theme of defense remained in the second half, as both teams fought for possession and were reluctant to concede shot attempts.
Despite the tradition of switching goalkeepers for the second half, Bohon stuck with the hot hand.
“I’m really happy for her because she’s been grinding,” Bohon said. “This was long overdue and now we need to build on it.”
South Carolina earned the first opportunity of the second half at minute 54. Collins made her way past the Gator defense and fired, but the ball did not travel far as Peña was quick to jump on it.
The defenses continued to hold their ground, with the Gamecocks having only two shot attempts for the next 20 minutes.
South Carolina had a major opportunity to break the tie with 13 minutes remaining. Collins had an open look after once again finding her way past Florida’s defense, but it was Peña who once again bested Collins as she blocked the attempt.
With time running out, every touch mattered. The Gamecocks shared the ball throughout the final minutes, but were unable to come up with anything, causing both teams to leave the field with a draw.
“I’m really proud of them,” Bohon said. “It really shows the growth of our program.”
Florida will hit the road to take on the Georgia Bulldogs (7-2-2, 2-0 SEC) at Turner Soccer Complex in Athens, Georgia Sunday at 7 p.m.
Contact Adrian Carmona at acarmona@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @abcarmona04.
Adrian is a senior journalism major and the soccer reporter for Fall 2025. He enjoys playing Sporcle quizzes and ranting about South Florida sports.
