Special report on the Florida Gators soccer team
GAINESVILLE, Florida -The University of Florida soccer team uses a hard-fought 1-0 win over Western Michigan to advance to next weekend's NCAA Second Round. Saturday's match was played in front of 832 at the Donald R. Dizney Stadium. Saturday's Goal: After a scoreless opening half, the Gators hit the only goal of the match in the 49th minute. Freshman Briana Solis<http://www.gatorzone.com/guides/soccer/pages/season_info/player_bios/solis_briana.php> won the ball at the center circle and then headed toward the Bronco goal. Before she reached the 18-yard box, two WMU defenders converged on her but she was able to touch it to the left off a defender to Savannah Jordan<http://www.gatorzone.com/guides/soccer/pages/season_info/player_bios/Jordan_Savannah.php> making a mirroring run. Jordan's left-footed shot scored from 17-yards at the far post. Worth Noting: * Jordan now has 22 goals this season, matching her career season-high total set as a freshman in 2013. * Solis recorded her first collegiate assist on today's goal. She has appeared in 18 matches this season and hit her first goal versus Arkansas in Florida's last home match on Oct. 25. * This was the first meeting between the two programs. Western Michigan is its 20th season and Florida started its program one year earlier in 1995. * Western Michigan entered Saturday's contest on an 11-match unbeaten streak. Tonight's result was only the second time the Broncos were held scoreless this season (2-0 loss at DePaul on Sept. 11). * This was Florida's sixth shutout of 2015. It is also seventh consecutive shutout for the Gators in NCAA Opening Round action (starting in 2009). * Florida advances after its opening NCAA match for the 15th time in the program's 19 appearances. This is the sixth consecutive season Florida is a No. 2 regional seed. What the Gators Said: Opening statement: "Round 1 -- through. I thought Western Michigan played well, especially late in the second half when they started to put some pressure on us. We were happy to get through the round, and we're looking forward to the next one." - Florida head coach Becky Burleigh On if the good defense from the Western Michigan forwards changed Florida's strategy: "I think that they played good team defense. Like Savannah said, they were solid in the back, they were really trying to win balls that we played in and their forwards worked really hard defensively at trying to press Christen (Westphal) and Claire in particular when they were trying to bring the ball out of the back. It's not something we haven't seen before, but I'm in agreement with Savannah. We talked all week about making progress during this time of year, and certainly we feel like we can make progress from this game." - Florida head coach Becky Burleigh On scoring the lone goal of the game: "I think it was a great build-up from our team. I think it started from the back and worked its way through the midfield. I got the ball out wide, outside the 18, and kind of looked up and just hit it far post. Initially it was a great build-up, and I think we did a really good job of getting the ball there. I think Western Michigan did a good job of keeping us from scoring. They high-pressed us and put us under a lot of pressure even around the goal, so I think they did a really good job defensively. I think we can just continue to get better on finishing our chances from here on out." - junior forward Savannah Jordan On what was said in the locker room during halftime: "We talked a little bit about going forward and looking forward a little bit quicker. We also talked about getting third runners in past the ball, so I think we did a good job of executing that in the second half. I still think it can be better, and we have yet to play our best soccer. We won this game 1-0 today, and thankfully we're moving on to the next round, but I think we have a lot more to come ahead of us." - junior forward Savannah Jordan On how the match played out: "The second half got a little rough there. Like Becky [Burleigh] was saying, they put a lot of pressure on us. At one point, it looked like there was four or five players just standing in front of us, so it was hard to find gaps to play through to find the midfield. We kind of lost ourselves, I felt like. We kind of started playing their game, kickball, but we just tried to settle it down and keep playing and keep working it through the midfield. It was tough. They were high-pressuring us." - senior defender Claire Falknor On her goal opportunity in the first half: "I initially chested it off my chest, and I was going to hit it the first time. I saw a girl coming in and I saw the goalkeeper come out, so then that's why I took an extra touch. I know I can get more opportunities like that, so it's not that frustrating." - senior defender Claire Falknor What the Broncos Said: "I'm so proud of this team. Obviously Florida is a fantastic team, we played unbelievable against them tonight. I thought the second half was really good. I'm proud of every single player on our team, especially our seniors who have accomplished so much in their four years, been in the NCAA Tournament twice, they've won a NCAA game, and made it to our conference championship game three times. It's been a fantastic season." - Western Michigan head coach Nate Norman On the difference in the match: "Soccer is a sport where you get one goal and that's sometimes all you need. Fortunately we were able to create some chances, unfortunately we weren't able to put it in the back. I thought the effort and the intensity we played with, especially in the second half, I was so proud of our girls to take one of the best teams in the country and put them on their heels for a good amount of time." - Western Michigan head coach Nate Norman What changed after the half: "I think it was trying to be a little bit more about our pressure and also trying to keep the ball a little bit more. In the first half we were too willing to get the ball forward to relieve pressure. We talked about how you relieve pressure by keeping the ball. We played with a lot more confidence and we had the ball more in the second half, and I think that made a difference and helped us have some chances." - Western Michigan head coach Nate Norman On the match: "I think we went into the game confident but obviously a little intimidated. Once we got into halftime we knew we could hang in there, and we really turned around in the second half. Ultimately we made one mistake, but at the end of the day we were still in there and I'm really proud of our team." - senior defender Lindsey Lee Her thoughts on the match: "We did everything we could, we worked so hard and stayed in it till the last second. That's all you can ask for, so I'm also proud of what we did out there today. Definitely stayed in it and it could have gone either way." - junior midfielder Liz Abro The Broncos take away from the match: "I think it's just a confidence booster for our program. We upset Marquette a few years ago, and we almost tied it up at the end of this game. It's just knowing that we can do it and just keep moving forward with our program." - - senior defender Lindsey Lee Records: Florida: 18-3-1, 8-2-1 SEC WMU: 14-4-8, 8-1-2 MAC Rankings: Florida is ranked No. 5 on the November 10 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll<http://www.nscaa.com/rankings/4938/NCAADivisionI/women/Poll12>. Next up: Florida will face its second-consecutive first-time opponent, meeting William & Mary next Friday for NCAA Second Round action. The Tribe advances with a 3-1 penalty kick advantage after tying 0-0 in double overtime at UCF in Saturday's NCAA Opening Round action held in Orlando. Florida plays host to NCAA Second and Third Round action next weekend at Dizney Stadium<http://www.gatorzone.com/facilities/drdizney>. Here's the schedule: Friday, Nov. 20 FGCU vs Duke 3 p.m. Florida vs William & Mary 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22 Match 1 winner vs Match 2 winner 2 p.m. NCAA Second & Third Round Ticket Information: NCAA Soccer Second and Third Round play will be at the Donald R. Dizney Stadium next weekend. Tickets are $7 for adults and $3 for children (12 and under), students and senior citizens. The first 200 UF student showing at Gator1 card are admitted free. Ticket sales begin at 8:30 a.m. on Monday at the Gator Ticket Office, located at gate 1 of the Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. For more information, contact the UAA Ticket Office at (352) 375-4683, ext. 6800 or 1-800-34GATOR, ext. 6800 (state of Florida only). No. 2 regional seed Florida (18-3-1, 8-2-1 SEC) versus Western Michigan (14-4-4, 8-1-2 MAC) Stadium: Donald R. Dizney Stadium (832) Weather: 60 degrees, 71% humidity, clear, winds 7mph Goals by Period 1 2 Total WMU 0 0 0 Florida 0 1 1 Scoring Summary: No. Time Team Goal Scorer Assist 1. 48:09 UF Savannah Jordan Briana Solis Shots: Florida 15; WMU 9 Saves: Florida 3 (Kaylan Marckese 3); WMU 5 (Stephanie Heber 4; Team 1) Cautions: Bench/UF - yellow (71:18)