Special report on the Florida Gators soccer team
MIAMI, Florida - A trio of goals in each half gave the University of Florida soccer team a 6-1 win over Florida International Sunday at the sun-drenched FIU Soccer Stadium. The goal number is a match season-high for Florida. Two Gator juniors - Brooke Sharp and Savannah Jordan- each scored a pair of goals Sunday. And the scores by Jordan gave her the 50th and 51st goals of her collegiate career. Of the six who have scored 50 or more goals, Jordan is the second-quickest to reach the milestone, as today was her 56th match as a Gator. Gators Scoring: Three Gator goals gave Florida a 3-1 opening half lead. The first came when Jordan and Sharp moved toward the goal, with Jordan controlling the ball. She passed left to Sharp, who scored on an eight-yard short to near post in the ninth minute. Jordan scored the 50th goal of her career in the 30th minute. Christen Westphal brought the ball up through the middle of the Gators' half, looked up and sent a long ball into space. Jordan caught up to the ball and then took it into the box to score her milestone goal. Freshman Sarah Troccoli put in the deflection off the crossbar in the 34th minute for her third goal of the season. The Panthers scored late in the half when Alyssa Robinson put in the Talia McMurtrie cross at the near post. Florida scored twice within a four-minute span early in the second half. The first of the half started when Mayra Pelayo crossed the ball from deep in the FIU half. That ball had options, as three Gators were framing the goal. It was Sharp who put in her second goal of the day in the 53rd minute. A third Gator junior scored Sunday when Liz Slattery> headed in a Westphal corner kick at the near post. It was Slattery's second goal of the season. Jordan turned in her second goal of the day when she one-timed in a cross from Lauren Smith in the 71st minute. Jordan Joins Gators' 50+ Goal List [cid:image007.png@01D0F3CC.166A0830] Six have scored 50 or more goals in their Gator careers. It has taken junior Savannah Jordan<http://www.gatorzone.com/guides/soccer/pages/season_info/player_bios/Jordan_Savannah.php> 56 matches to reach that milestone. The only Gator quicker to 50 goals is Danielle Fotopoulos<http://www.gatorzone.com/soccer/bios.php?bio=fotopoulos.html&year=1998>, the NCAA all-time goals (118) and points (284) leader. She came to Florida already with 52 collegiate goals, as she played her first two seasons at Southern Methodist. Fotopoulos scored 50 as a Gator in 33 matches. Worth Noting: * Sharp has now scored six goals, with all coming in the last five matches. It was second multi-goal match for Sharp, as she turned in her first Sept. 4 versus Oklahoma State. * Today was Jordan's 13th multi-goal match as a Gator and the second of 2015. Her first of the season came when she turned in a hat-trick at Miami on Aug. 27. * Jordan leads Florida in 2015 with 10 goals in nine matches. * Westphal recorded her first double-assist match of the season. She leads the Gators with six assists in 2015. * Slattery has headed in both of her goals this season off corner kicks. * The last time Florida won by a five-goal margin was a 6-1 home win versus Vanderbilt on Oct. 30, 2014. * Today was Florida's final non-conference match of the regular season and the fifth Sunshine State opponent. The Gators were 5-0 versus state of Florida opponents in 2015 (UCF/2-0, at Miami/4-2; Florida State/3-2; at Jacksonville/4-0; at FIU/6-1). Florida was also 5-0 versus in-state rivals in 2010. Consecutive Matches with Four or More Goals This is Florida's third consecutive match with four of more goals. Florida last had three or more consecutive matches with four or more goals in 2001. UF Goals Date Opponent 1st 2nd Final Score 9/13/15 at Jacksonville 4 0 4-0 9/18/15 vs Mississippi 0 4 4-1 9/20/15 at Florida International 3 3 6-1 10/21/01 at Georgia 1 3 4-1 10/26/01 vs Mississippi State 6 0 6-0 10/28/01 vs Mississippi 5 1 5-1 11/3/01 Clemson 3 1 4-1 11/801 Vanderbilt (SEC Tournament) 2 2 4-0 Records: Florida: 7-2-0, 1-1 SEC Florida International: 4-5-0, 0-0 C-USA What the Gators Said: What was said to the team prior to the match? "We asked the Leadership Group to talk to the team to try to get a different response and a quick start. I think they did a good job in the locker room of expressing what that would look like and obviously that took place on the field. Before the game, the coaches just talked about tactics. The players talked about how they wanted to start the game off." - The Gators scored a season-high six goals today. Today, we were really efficient around the goal. For the number of chances we had and the number of goals we scored, that was a pretty good ratio. That says good things about the balls being delivered in as well as the quality of the finishing." - Florida head coach Becky Burleigh You are the sixth to score 50 goals during your Gator career. "It is definitely an honor to be mentioned with them. Names like Abby Wambach, Danielle Fotopoulos - to be named in the same sentence as them is an awesome feeling." - junior forward Savannah Jordan How did you score No. 50? "Christen Westphal had the ball in the back and she looked up. I made a run behind the backline and she played me a great ball. I was 1v1 with the keeper and finished it near post." - junior forward Savannah Jordan And goal No. 51? "It was kind of similar to No. 50. Lauren Smith had it in the back and drove forward a bit more. She played me a really good ball and I finished at the top of the box." - junior forward Savannah Jordan How did the team perform today? "It was a full team effort. The bench gave a ton of energy. Being on the road and it is extremely hot down here - they brought a ton of energy for us and helped us out a lot. The players who came in kept the energy up for us on the field. It was a great team effort." - junior forward Savannah Jordan Preseason Conference Votes: Florida was second in the 2014 Southeastern Conference final standings with a 9-2 record. FIU was 10th in 2014 Conference USA action with a 3-4-2 record. Florida - The Gators are picked to win the 2015 Southeastern Conference title. FIU - The Panthers are picked to finish sixth in C-USA in 2015. Rankings: Florida is ranked No. 12 on the September 15 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll<http://www.nscaa.com/rankings/4198/NCAADivisionI/women/Poll4>. Next up: Florida a pair of Southeastern Conference road matches are next for the Gators. Florida is at Vanderbilt on Friday, Sept. 25 and No. 14 Auburn on Sunday, Sept. 27. Both of the league matches will be streamed on SEC Network + and all three matches can be heard on GatorZone.com. [cid:image008.jpg@01D0F3CC.166A0830] FloridaGators<https://www.facebook.com/FloridaGators> [cid:image009.jpg@01D0F3CC.166A0830] @GatorsSoccer<https://twitter.com/GatorZoneSoccer> @FloridaGators<https://twitter.com/GatorZoneNews> @UFGatorSoccer<https://twitter.com/UFGatorSoccer> (Becky Burleigh) No. 12 Florida (7-2-0, 1-1 SEC) at FIU (4-5-0, 0-0 C-USA) Stadium: FIU Soccer Stadium (461) Weather: 90 degrees, winds 7 MPH, 58 % humidity Goals by Period 1 2 Total Florida 3 3 6 Florida International 1 0 1 Scoring Summary: No. Time Team Goal Scorer Assist 1. 8:45 UF Brooke Sharpe Savannah Jordan 2. 29:10 UF Savannah Jordan Christen Westphal 3. 33:06 UF Sarah Troccoli 4. 41:55 FIU Alyssa Robinson Talia McMurtrie 5. 53:10 UF Brooke Sharp Mayra Pelayo 6. 56:58 UF Liz Slattery Christen Westphal 7. 70:29 UF Savannah Jordan Lauren Smith Shots: Florida 7; FIU 2 Saves: Florida 1 (Valerie Tysinger 1); FIU 0 (Sophia Trujillo 0) Yellow card: Liz Slattery/UF (32:00)
