Pamela Begic took a hard fall while looking to capitalize on a set piece for Florida and recover from a loss to South Carolina on Friday night.
The Slovenian freshman turned a mix-up into magic, sacrificing herself in the process en route to a 3-0 shutout against Auburn at James G. Pressly Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Christen Westphal took Florida’s first corner kick in the 16th minute.
Westphal crossed the ball to the right of the box and freshman forward Savannah Jordan sent it into the left corner.
A Tigers (4-8-1, 0-5 Southeastern Conference) defender headed it out but directed it right to Begic, who dove forward to head the ball into the right corner of the goal. While doing so, she collided into Tigers goalkeeper Alicen Wright.
Florida (9-3-1, 3-2 SEC) grabbed its first goal and the lead, but Begic left the game with an unspecified injury and did not return.
Coach Becky Burleigh expects Begic to be fine.
“That was a really brave goal,” Burleigh said. “That took a lot of courage because she knew she was going to get hammered on that goal.”
Burleigh substituted in five players during a 15-minute span after the first goal.
Midfielder Liz Slattery and forward Jillian Graff were two players who made an impact.
The two pressured Auburn’s back line, and in the 30th minute, Slattery made her way up the field, bypassing a defender to find Graff, who used the open space to sink a 15-yard shot into the left corner for her second goal of the season.
“I put a spin on it so she could just touch it,” Slattery said. “She had a great touch to finish it.”
Slattery’s assist was her first for UF.
“Every time you go in off the bench, it’s an opportunity to show the coaches you can play and you can be on the starting lineup,” Slattery said.
“Every single game, I’m working harder and harder to get into that lineup and get into that rotation. Once you get on the field, you got to take advantage of it, work your hardest, you got to do things right and try to make as least mistakes as possible.”
The Gators continued that mentality, looking for a third goal to cushion their lead before halftime.
Burleigh subbed senior midfielder Caroline Triglia in after the second goal. The change proved beneficial when Triglia scored the Gators’ final goal in the 40th minute.
“Setting the tone early in the first half was good for us,” Burleigh said. “If we can get ahead and keep it, I think it’s a very difficult team to break down.”
Follow Michelle Provenzano on Twitter @mmprovenzano.
Pamela Begic dribbles the ball during Florida’s 2-1 loss against South Carolina on Friday at James G. Pressly Stadium. Begic left Sunday’s game due to an unspecified injury.
