The Arkansas Razorbacks women’s soccer team, currently ranked ninth in the nation, will begin Southeastern Conference (SEC) play on Thursday, September 11, with an away match against the Florida Gators. The game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. CT kickoff and will be broadcast live on SEC Network.
Arkansas has struggled historically against Florida, holding a 5-22-0 record in the series. However, recent years have seen improvement: the Razorbacks have won their last four matches against the Gators and five of the past seven meetings. Their first win in Gainesville came in 2022. Arkansas had not beaten Florida until 2016.
Overall, Arkansas holds a 15-14-2 record in SEC openers and has performed better at home than on the road. Under head coach Colby Hale, who took over in 2012, the team is 8-5-0 in conference openers and has won five of its last six SEC opening games.
Florida enters this matchup after finishing its non-conference schedule with a loss to Georgia State. The Gators have already surpassed last season’s goal total by scoring 15 goals through seven matches and matched their win total from last year with four victories so far this season. Addy Hess leads Florida with seven points.
Since 2020, Arkansas has emerged as one of the top programs in SEC women’s soccer, winning three regular-season titles and amassing 38 wins out of a possible 48 conference games. The team has also maintained an unbeaten record at home in SEC play since October 16, 2020.
Most recently, Arkansas tied Creighton 3-3 to close out its non-conference schedule. Senior Taylor Berman scored late to avoid defeat after conceding three second-half goals.
According to NCAA women’s soccer analyst Chris Henderson (@chris_awk), Arkansas faces one of the most challenging schedules nationally this season; only Penn State ranks higher for non-conference strength of schedule. No other program started their campaign facing four ranked opponents within five matches.
In preseason exhibition matches against UT Martin and Oral Roberts, newcomers made significant contributions for Arkansas. Freshman Paige Szymanski led all scorers with three goals across both games.
The Razorbacks entered this season with their highest-ever preseason ranking—No. 6—in the United Soccer Coaches poll and were picked by league coaches as favorites to win another SEC title.
Recruiting continues to be strong under Hale; his latest class was ranked No.19 nationally by TopDrawerSoccer—the first time he has landed a top-25 class at Arkansas—with several players listed among IMG Academy’s National Top 200 prospects.
Transfers are also expected to make an impact this year: Erin Bailey arrives from BYU after scoring ten goals last season; Aniyah Nurse-Whyte joins from Seminole State where she led her team in scoring; goalkeeper Evelyn Vitali brings experience from Utah and Oklahoma State.
Sophomore goalkeeper Keegan Smith set or matched several school records during her freshman year—including tying for most single-season shutouts—and earned All-SEC honors along with national recognition from TopDrawerSoccer and call-ups to U.S youth national teams.
At home, Razorback Field remains a stronghold for Arkansas: since August 2021 they have lost just three times there while going unbeaten through their last twenty-two home conference games.
This season marks the third consecutive year that coaches around the league selected Arkansas as preseason favorites for the regular-season championship despite losing much of last year’s high-scoring offense—66 percent of its goals—from key departing players Kate Doyle, Ava Tankersley, and Anaiyah Robinson.
For more information on Arkansas soccer, follow @RazorbackSoccer on social media.
