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Gators rally and fight for a draw against UCF

Surrounded by a crowd of 1,143 fans, the Florida Gators football team took the field hoping to maintain their undefeated record.

Both teams played aggressively and fought for possession. With two minutes left on the clock, Florida gave it everything it had on the field.

However, Florida (1-0-2) was unable to score a goal in the final minutes of its tie against UCF (1-0-2) at Donald R. Dizney Stadium on Sunday.

Just minutes into the game, freshman Vera Blom got the ball on a free kick but narrowly missed the goal. Shortly after, the Gators had a second free kick that gave them a scoring opportunity, but UCF goalkeeper Sami Lipcon saved it.

Florida got off to a shaky start defensively, struggling to complete passes and making mistakes on the defensive line that gave UCF momentum.

UCF sophomore midfielder Honoka Hamano took a shot on goal seven minutes into the game, but goalkeeper and sophomore Alexa Goldberg saved the shot.

Sophomore Lena Bailey made a pass to sophomore/midfielder Delaney Tellex for a shot on goal, but the ball went wide and a corner kick was awarded. Sophomore Madison Jones took the corner kick and midfielder Lauren Donovan got a header on the ball, but her attempt went wide.

Less than a minute later, UCF countered the Gators with a goal from UCF forward Chloe Netzel, giving the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead.

Tellex made several passes and made productive plays on offense.

Experienced defender Madison Young finally converted a corner kick, but shortly afterwards the ball was ruled offside.

Florida upped the tempo and put pressure on UCF in the final 16 minutes, with defender Daviana Vaka, also a graduate student, receiving a yellow card for a hard foul.

In the 14:38 minute the game was temporarily interrupted due to weather conditions.

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Immediately after play resumed, sophomore forward Amelia Malkin fired a shot on goal, but it was saved by UCF goalkeeper Sami Lipcon.

UCF veteran midfielder Annika Huhta took a free kick from just outside the box but hit the crossbar.

With two minutes left in the first half, Tellex passed the ball to Blom, who cut to the ball to score her first collegiate goal and tied the game 1-1 with a one-on-one tie against Lipcon.

The second half kept the crowd on the edge of their seats as both Florida and UCF maintained possession of the ball.

Young midfielder Norah Abbott had two close shots on goal that missed the net, while young striker Amelia Malkin also had a shot on goal that was blocked.

In the 30th minute, Netzel was uncovered on the left side and took advantage of the opportunity to score. UCF took a 2-1 lead against the Gators.

Young striker Njeri Butts played the ball to Donovan, who headed it towards goal, but Lipcon was able to save the ball.

After a mistake by a UCF defender, Florida redshirt junior Sophie White got the ball in front of the UCF defense. White, returning from her second ACL injury, scored her second collegiate goal in a one-on-one with Lipcon to tie the game at 2-2.

Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Jayden Emmanuel made a crucial save on a Netzel shot attempt with 12 minutes left in the first half.

The game became more aggressive as each team fought to break the tie. Both teams committed nine fouls, with Young, Huhta, UCF redshirt sophomore midfielder Daniella Chung and UCF freshman midfielder Ella Holloran receiving yellow cards.

With six minutes left in the game, Tellex was fouled outside the penalty area, but Lipcon saved Jones' free kick.

With two minutes left on the clock, Florida was giving it everything it had on the field. Abbott, desperate to score, took the final shot, but it was blocked as the Gators couldn't score a game-winning goal.

Florida will face Georgia State (0-1-1) away in Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday at 6 p.m.

Contact Amanda Roman at [email protected]. Follow her on X @mandy_romannn

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