SARASOTA, Fla. — Florida Polytechnic University women's soccer opened its 2026 season Thursday afternoon at NCF Bayfront, falling 16-0 to New College of Florida. The contest marked the season opener for both programs, with the Phoenix moving to 0-1 while New College began the year 1-0.
New College controlled possession and applied pressure early, but Florida Poly goalkeeper Ariela Rose Grady kept the Phoenix in the contest during the opening minutes. Grady recorded three saves before the Mighty Banyans finally broke through in the 10th minute on a goal from Naomi Woerner. New College added goals at 11:39 and 14:09 to build a 3-0 advantage, but Grady continued to face a steady stream of attempts and finished the opening half with 12 saves.
Florida Poly's defense held New College without another goal for nearly 20 minutes following the initial three-goal stretch. During that span, Grady turned away attempts from Emma Hunter, Daniela Nieto, Emma Todd, Aubrey Mau, Summer Steele, Grace Carpenter and Caroline Langsam. New College eventually extended the lead on Aubrey Mau's goal at 34:15 before Ashlyn Florio scored at 39:01, sending the Phoenix into halftime trailing 5-0.
The Mighty Banyans increased their pressure early in the second half. Abigail Craig scored at 48:36 before Chole Nickell found the net at 50:25. Faith Hardy converted a penalty kick at 51:28, and Nickell scored again just over a minute later. Woerner completed a three-goal performance at 53:27 before Hardy added her second goal in the 59th minute. Daniela Nieto and Grace Carpenter also scored as New College pushed its advantage to 13-0 by the 66th minute.
Despite the offensive pressure, Grady played all 90 minutes in goal for Florida Poly and produced 17 saves on 33 shots on goal. Twelve of those saves came during the first half and five came after halftime. The Phoenix defense was led by Grady along with Annie Lynn, Johanna Marroquin and Mia Castillo, each of whom logged 90 minutes, while Leyla Kacurova, Kalie Watts, Cadence Jackson, Amanda Custin and Hannah Lawrence also played the full match. Alexa Grob contributed 21 minutes off the bench.
New College closed the scoring with three goals over the final 13 minutes, as Emma Todd scored at 77:23, Reese John followed at 80:59 and Nieto completed the scoring at 87:32. The Mighty Banyans finished with 70 total shots and 33 attempts on goal, while Florida Poly was held without a shot or corner kick. The Phoenix committed five fouls and received one yellow card, which was issued to Castillo in the 85th minute.
