It wasn’t until the second half of Saturday night’s game at Donald R. Dizney Stadium that No. 2 regional seed Florida (18-3-1, 8-2-1 Southeastern Conference) was able to find its way on the board, en route to a 1-0 victory over Western Michigan (14-4-4, 8-1-2 Mid-American Conference) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Forty-nine minutes into the game, following a scoreless first half that saw the Gators outshoot the Broncos seven to one, freshman midfielder Briana Solis found the feet of junior midfielder Savannah Jordan from a short pass near the top of the box.
Jordan proceeded to take a few touches before placing a bouncing shot past WMU goalkeeper Stephanie Haber at the far right side of the goal.
It was the 22nd goal of the year for Jordan, tying the career high she set as a freshman.
The goal also marked the fourth time this season the Gators have scored less than five minutes into the second half of a game.
Jordan’s eventual decisive goal came off of the Gators’ first shot of the half, after attempting seven team shots in the first half with no success.
A change in Florida’s offensive mindset during halftime could serve as credit to what led to the goal.
“We talked a little bit about going forward and looking forward a little bit quicker,” Jordan said.
“We also talked about getting runners in past the ball, so I think we did a really good job in executing that.”
Though the first 45 minutes were quiet on the scoreboard, UF came close to scoring on multiple occasions.
Defender Claire Falknor gave the Gators perhaps the best opportunity to score in the half.
Almost 20 minutes into the match, Falknor found the ball in the box and took one dribble too many before she lost her chance to get a shot off and possibly give Florida the lead.
Despite a lone shot in the first half, the Broncos played a very high-pressure team defense, often preventing Florida from building up plays from the backline.
“They were solid in the back, they were really trying to win balls that we played in,” coach Becky Burleigh said.
But Burleigh wasn’t caught off guard by the tactic. Texas A&M, among other previous opponents, had used high-pressure defending forwards before, so the the Gators knew how to adjust--proven by the early second half goal.
“It’s not something we haven’t seen before,” Burleigh said.
Western Michigan answered a lowly first half with a second half that saw eight shots taken for the Broncos. They were even able to present a formidable threat in the final minutes of the game, but Florida was able to hold on.
For a fair share of the second half, Florida experienced some calls that did not sit well with coaches, players or fans. The bench even received a yellow card in the 72nd minute.
Burleigh saw it as a chance for her team to get experience in overcoming obstacles.
“All year, We’ve worked really hard at (overcoming) adversity as a group,” Burleigh said.
“This was just another example of that.”
The Gators will host William & Mary on Friday at 7 p.m. at Dizney Stadium in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Follow Kyle Brutman on Twitter @KBrut13
UF forward Savannah Jordan takes a shot during Florida's 2-1 win against LSU on Oct. 11, 2015, at James G. Pressly Stadium.
