Havana Solaun has a knack for scoring goals against Ole Miss.
She notched a pair of goals in Florida’s two goal shutout win in Oxford, Miss., last season.
She found the back of the net again Friday night, as her fourth goal of the season gave No. 24 Florida (7-3-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) an early first-half lead, one it would not relinquish in a 3-1 win against Ole Miss (9-3, 2-3 SEC) at James G. Pressly Stadium.
Solaun credited her propensity for goals against Ole Miss as a testament to staying within herself more than anything she has done tactically.
“When teams do pack the back, the key is patience,” she said. “I think one of my strong points as a player is patience. It kind of helps when everyone is trying to force it to just relax and stay composed.”
Florida controlled possession throughout the game, especially in the initial ten minutes. The Gators peppered Ole Miss goalkeeper Kelly McCormick to no avail.
In the 15th minute, Solaun put the Gators in front, getting a foot on a through ball sent in by Taylor Travis.
The touch was just enough, as the ball trickled past McCormick and into the net.
“I don’t know if she didn’t have a great grip on it,” Solaun said. “It just slid right in.”
The goal was her second in as many games with All-American Erika Tymrak sidelined with a sprained ankle. Despite missing Tymrak, a key cog in the Florida offense, the Gators have now scored seven goals in the last two games.
“As a team, everybody has done their individual part to pull it together and fill the hole she has left,” Solaun said.
The offensive outpouring aside, Gators coach Becky Burleigh said she hopes to see her senior midfielder back in the lineup.
“She’s a very dynamic player, and we miss her,” she said. “She is the type of player in these situations, she can really help break down that defense.”
Burleigh said she did not expect Tymrak to be ready to play in Florida’s game against Arkansas on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Without her, other players have been asked to pick up the slack.
One such player is Jillian Graff. Earning her first start of the season Friday night, she put Florida up 2-0 in the 52nd minute with a goal off a deflection from Annie Speese.
“Everything just kind of bounced the right way,” she said. “Toward the middle of the half, it started to get frantic. That’s what we needed to relax.”
A goal from Ole Miss forward Rafaelle Souza cut the Florida lead to one just minutes later. She fired an off-balanced, left-footed shot from the corner of the box that beat Taylor Burke at the far post.
The Florida defense regained its composure following the goal, not allowing another Ole Miss shot.
With less than 15 minutes remaining, Caroline Triglia sealed the victory with her first goal of the season.
“I think (the momentum) shifted for about five minutes, where we sort of just stopped playing in the rhythm we wanted to play in,” Burleigh said. “That goal served to settle everyone back down again.
Any time you can get three points in the SEC, we are trying to get six every weekend, so three tonight is a big step toward that.”
Sophomore midfielder Havana Solaun scored the first goal of the game against Ole Miss early in the first half. Solaun leads the Gators with four goals on the season.
