It took only four minutes and 32 seconds for Savannah Jordan to break through Mississippi’s defense.
And in that moment, Jordan’s talent on the soccer field was boosted to new heights.
Midfielder Annie Speese found Jordan by the box and sent her a near side pass. Jordan controlled the ball and ran it to the middle of the box, going one on one with Ole Miss goalkeeper Kelly McCormick. Jordan took the shot and the ball curved right around McCormick for the goal to help the Gators (8-1-1) en route to a 4-1 victory over the Rebels (8-2-1).
Jordan now sits at 11 goals this season, making her one of the nation’s leading goal scorers in college soccer.
Coach Becky Burleigh said it was great to see Jordan get through the adversity early on.
But Jordan’s goal was just the beginning.
About 10 minutes later, freshman midfielder Pamela Begic found the sweet spot in the Rebels’ goal.
Jordan was in possession of the ball within the attacking third, while three defenders started closing in on her.
She quickly crossed the ball to Begic, who ran it to the middle of the box and sunk her shot in the right corner to give the Gators an insurance goal.
The goal is Begic’s third this season, and Jordan grabbed her first career assist off of it.
But Florida wasn’t willing to let up there.
About two minutes after the Gators were leading 2-0, the team started playing wide.
Pamela Begic received the ball after some give-and-go passes and saw some pressure. She sent it to outside back Claire Falknor, who found some room at the top right corner of the box. Falknor faked out McCormick and drove the ball into the right corner of the goal.
Falknor’s goal was her first this season and the second in her career.
“I was really excited for Claire to score,” Burleigh said.
“We watched video and talked this week about her just continuing her run and how she could be a playmaker out of that position if she how she could continue her run. It was great to see her get a result from it.”
Burleigh stressed the importance of making their mark early this season, and finishing the first three shots to the Rebels’ goal was the execution she was looking for from the team.
“The quick start was awesome,” Burleigh said. “That’s probably the best start we’ve had all year.”
Florida limited Ole Miss to five shot opportunities in the first half – only one made it past goalkeeper Taylor Burke off a long throw in from the Rebels’ box.
“I was a little disappointed with the goal we gave up, but we came out with momentum in the second half,” Burleigh said.
Florida raised the defensive pressure in the second half, limiting Ole Miss to two shots. The Gators managed to grab one more goal over Ole Miss. Forward Jillian Graff was substituted in for Jordan in the 68th minute, and grabbed her first goal this season in the 89th minute to finalize the Gators’ 4-1 win.
Burleigh noted the early goals made all the difference against Ole Miss, but they also meant having to keep up a high pace for the rest of the game.
“The biggest challenge was after going up so big early, not getting complacent,” Burleigh said. “I think we saw a little bit of that, but we regained our discipline through the second half and got back on track.”
Follow Michelle Provenzano on Twitter @mmprovenzano.
Savannah Jordan battles for the ball during Florida’s 3-0 victory against Alabama on Sept. 20 at James G. Pressly Stadium.
