Christen Westphal pushes the envelope when it comes to her role on the field.
The sophomore center back charged out of the back line and into the attacking third to assume the playmaking role on freshman forward Savannah Jordan’s second goal against Texas A&M on Sunday.
“The ball that she played Savannah for the goal was just the perfect weight, right at the right timing, and they had good connection in terms of their eye contact when she played it,” coach Becky Burleigh said.
“The fact that that came from a double team with her and [junior outside back Tessa Andujar], and then she advanced the ball up the field until she felt the need to play it, which was perfect timing. It was a great ball.”
Westphal’s assist was the second of her career and first this season — a testament to Florida’s unique style where any player can contribute offensively.
“It’s unusual that center backs get forward, and on our team that’s encouraged — even though sometimes that makes me really nervous,” Burleigh said.
“It’s terrific that our players have confidence in one another for her to get forward and for someone to take her place. For her to go forward and us just utilize the numbers up, it’s just part of the way we play.”
While Westphal has given Florida an offensive spark, she has also helped create an impenetrable back line. The Gators have not allowed a goal in their last 559 minutes of play.
Funneling the momentum from six straight shutouts in conference play, Florida has the second ranked defense in the Southeastern Conference with a 0.57 goals-against average.
“Christen is really unusual in that last year when she was a freshman, she was one of our most consistent players,” Burleigh said.
“And especially in a position like center back, where we put so much responsibility on that person. Her season last year was remarkable. The fact that she’s been able to continue that without any kind of sophomore slump is really impressive.”
Westphal’s debut in the 2012 season was what most freshmen could only hope for — starting in 24 games during the season, she was second on the team, averaging 87.2 minutes of playing time per game.
Now starting every game and playing full 90-minute matches, Westphal has helped the Gators measure up to some steep competition in the SEC.
“We knew when we got to the A&M game they were picked to be first, so at that point they were the measuring stick in our conference as to who was the best,” Burleigh said.
“We’ve been in that situation several times this year because we’ve played several teams that were at some point number one in the conference. I don’t think we talk about it in terms of the overall picture, but we talk about it as let’s take another step forward.”
Freshman honored: Savannah Jordan is the SEC Offensive Soccer Player of the Week, the league announced Monday. Jordan scored three goals during the weekend to raise her season total to 18.
Follow Michelle Provenzano on Twitter @mmprovenzano.
Christen Westphal battles for the ball during Florida’s 2-0 victory against Texas A&M on Sunday afternoon at James G. Pressly Stadium.
