BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU Soccer team (10-5-3, 5-2-3 SEC) defeated Florida (6-6-5, 4-3-3 SEC) in their last regular season match of the year on Sunday afternoon at the LSU Soccer Stadium. 

The Tigers have now secured their highest finish in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) under Head Coach Sian Hudson as they finished the regular season fifth in the standings with 18 points. LSU also concluded their home season with a 6-1-1 record after securing their first victory over Florida in Baton Rouge.

With their win on Sunday, LSU has now extended their unbeaten streak to seven matches, their longest in program history. The day was led by junior Ava Galligan, who secured a brace against the Gators, as well as goals from freshmen Sariyah Bailey and Gadea Blanco Gonzalez.

The Tigers opened the match in strong fashion with their fastest goal of the 2025 season. Defender Kelsey Major sent a cross into the box from the left flank that was flicked on by forward Ava Galligan. Galligan’s flick sent the ball to Bailey, who ripped a right footed shot with her first touch from ten yards out into the bottom left corner. The goal was Bailey’s sixth of the year in her stellar debut season.

LSU stayed on the front foot and continued to apply pressure to the Florida box, forcing Gator goalkeeper Paloma Pena to make saves in the 8th, 11th, 13th, 15th, and 17th minutes. Florida was able to test LSU’s Sophine Kevorkian in the 38th and 41st minutes with shots on goal, but the Tiger goalkeeper kept the scoreline at 1-0 heading into halftime.

The second half was another electric start for the Tigers as they doubled their lead just 25 seconds into the half. Galligan received the ball on the right flank and charged into the box, cut inside on her left foot and ripped a powerful ground shot from 15 yards out that sped past the goalkeeper and into the bottom left corner to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead. 

Against the run of play, the Gators cut the lead to 2-1 in the 65th minute. Kai Tsakiris sent a cross into the box from the left flank and found O’Conye, who tapped it past the goalkeeper from six yards out.

The Gators pressed on searching for an equalizer, forcing saves from Kevorkian in the 72nd and 77th minutes. The 78th minute saw Kevorkian launch a ball to midfield, which was tapped on by Bailey to Galligan. Galligan surged with pace past her defender and into the box, where she poked it with her right foot past the rushing goalkeeper and into the back of the net. Galligan’s brace took her season total to eight, while the assist was Bailey’s sixth of the year and Kevorkian’s first of her collegiate career.

Galligan’s two goals on the day put her back on top as the Tigers leading goal scorer. Hermannsdottir and Bailey follow with six each, respectively. 

The strong day was wrapped up in the 84th minute with the first collegiate goal from midfielder Gadea Blanco Gonzalez. Gonzalez pounced on a defensive error from the Gators and tapped the ball into a wide open net to give LSU a 4-1 lead on the day, earning her first career goal as a Tiger after joining the squad this year from Spain. 

The Tigers four goals against the Gators marked the most goals scored in a single game by LSU against Florida. Overall, LSU dominated Florida on the day, outshooting them by a margin of 19-10 and 13-5 in the shots on goal category. 

LSU will now begin their postseason journey in the 2025 SEC Tournament next weekend. The Tigers will kick off tournament action against Auburn on Sunday, November 2 at 7 p.m. CT on SEC Network.

The winner of the first-round match will advance to the quarterfinals on Tuesday, November 4, where they will face Tennessee at 7 p.m. CT at the Ashton Brosnaham Soccer Complex in Pensacola, Florida.

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