GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The duel between the Florida Gators and the Florida Atlantic Owls was a match of contrasts. Thanks to individual plays in the first half, the Gators were able to win 3-0 over the defensive-shaped lineup of the Owls.

The Owls started the match with a 3-5-2 lineup with the two wide midfielders going back and forth helping the defensive line every time the Gators had the ball. It worked well in the first 20 minutes of the match. The Gators dictated the tempo and the possession of the ball, with the trio of Pamela Begič, Gabby Seiler and Meggie Dougherty Howard pulling the strings in the midfield and giving fluency to the ball movement. But they were having trouble finding Savannah Jordan as she made runs in the box. It was Melanie Monteagudo’s entry to the game that changed the pace of the match.

Just 36 seconds after entering the match, Monteagudo scored the first goal of the match — assisted by Jordan. Her dribbling ability when playing as a creative midfielder let her drag FAU’s center-backs from their positions, allowing Jordan better opportunities to find open space in FAU’s box. Five minutes later, Monteagudo was fouled inside the box. Dougherty Howard scored the penalty.

When Begič is not on the pitch, Samantha Chung is the one charged with giving freshness and fluency to every attacking play. That was the case when she found Jordan with a through pass. Jordan was in a one-on-one situation against the FAU’s goalkeeper Sydney Drinkwater. She decided to dribble instead of shooting the ball, which led Drinkwater to commit a foul. The referee gave her a red card. Jordan kicked the penalty and FAU’s new goalkeeper, Jennifer Ocampo, got her hands on it, but Jordan was able to score the goal by putting in the deflection.

In the second half, it was evident that the Owls were playing with 10 players. The Gators dominated the ball and started to find better ways to penetrate the Owls’ box. In the stat sheet, it will be difficult to notice the dominant second half of Jordan offensively. She had several good looks at goal and had a couple of chances that ended up right against the post.

Unquestionably, there are some areas to focus on in upcoming practices, but It was a good start of the season for the Gators. This is just the beginning and this Gator team seems ready to see how the season unfolds.

The Gators will be traveling to California on Wednesday to face preseason No. 5 Stanford on Friday.

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