By: Jose Sanchez

            The Florida Gators displayed one of their best soccer showcases of season in Sunday’s 3-0 win at Mississippi. It was the Gators’ fourth consecutive win and fifth on the road.

            After a shot from Mississippi’s Maddi Falter in the second minute, the Gators ran the monologue of the match. The duo of Meggie Dougherty Howard and Briana Solis on the midfield orchestrated the positional and creative game for Florida. Both players dictated the rhythm of the game and found the way to break the Rebels’ backline with through passes to Savannah Jordan.

            Florida looked and found open spaces for the Gators’ wingers to make cuts and long passes to the box.

            The Gators’ opening half goals started with crosses from Samantha Chung on the right side and Melanie Monteagudo on the left side. Chung found Savannah Jordan, who dribbled through three defenders inside the box and scored with her right foot. Monteagudo’s deep cross in the 40^th minute found Pamela Begić at the far post. Begić took advantage of her height and great physicality to score with a header.

            With Gabby Seiler playing as a center defender, the Gators can exploit their possession style of play thanks to the many midfielders on the pitch. Seiler can drive the ball and help with the build-ups thanks to Erika Nelson, who maintains her position and does the defensive work.

             The Gators freedom to move the ball and make quick ball-recovery helped their attack. Mayra Pelayo’s body movement and dribbling skills forced the Rebels’ backline to stay inside their box. Dougherty Howard continued pulling the strings and assisted Jordan with a through pass for the third goal of the game.

            Next up for the Gators is a visit to No. 4 South Carolina — the leaders of the SEC standings — next Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. That match will air live on the SEC Network. The Rebels play host to the Texas A&M Aggies on Friday at 7 p.m. CT.

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