Freshman Savannah
Jordan gave the Gators’ the go-ahead goal in the 81st minute and
then added an insurance score just under five and a half minutes later as No. 9
Florida opened the season with a 3-1 win over Florida Gulf Coast Friday evening
at the James G. Pressly Stadium.
Junior Havana
Solaun scored the season’s first goal in the 35th minute off the
double assist from freshmen Brooke Sharp and Pamela Begič. The
Eagles tied the match just before halftime when Ally Kasun headed in Melissa
Arnold’s corner kick. It was the 13th season-opening win in Florida’s
19-year history.
GATORS
STARS
·
Solaun,
a graduate of Gainesville’s Buchholz High School, scored the first goal of the
season off a 12-yard left-footed shot. It is the second goal in a season’s
debut for Solaun as she also scored UF’s second goal in a 2-0 win at Miami in
2011.
·
Jordan,
from Fayetteville, Ga., is the first Gator freshman to score twice in a season
opener since Aimee Wagstaff in the program’s debut match in 1995.
·
The
Gators limited the Eagles to a single shot.
RECORDS: Florida (1-0, 0-0 SEC); Florida Gulf Coast
(0-1, 0-0 ASC).
THE SERIES: Florida is now 4-0 versus FGCU. All of the
meetings have come since the 2011 season. The Eagles scored their first goal
versus the Gators tonight.
