Florida moves into second place in the American Athletic Conference
Box Score<https://floridagators.com/documents/2023/4/15/UF_ECU.pdf>
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The ninth-ranked Florida lacrosse team extended its win streak to six-straight games after topping the ECU Pirates 10-5 on Saturday afternoon at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
The Gators improve to 11-3 on the year and 3-1 in the AAC, while East Carolina drops to 10-5 overall and 3-1 in league play.
With the victory, Florida leapfrogs East Carolina for the second spot in the American Athletic Conference with two games left in league play.
The defense was the story of the afternoon for Florida, with the Gators only allowing five goals – East Carolina’s lowest scoring output of the year. Florida held the Pirates to a .217 shooting percentage (5-of-23) and the five goals allowed was the fewest for UF since March 25 against Cincinnati.
East Carolina is averaging 13.3 goals per game in conference play and has only had four games under 10 goals this season. As a squad, Florida totaled 12 caused turnovers, led by three from Shelton Sawers. Becky Browndorf and Maggi Hall each registered two caused turnovers in the win.
Emma LoPinto led Florida’s offensive effort on the day, finishing the game with three goals. Danielle Pavinelli and Hall each found the back of the cage twice, while Madison Waters, Emerson Cabrera and Ava Tighe each tallied one goal on the afternoon.
Hall dished out a team-high three assists, while LoPinto added one helper in the win.
The Gators held almost complete control of the draw circle, winning 13-of-18 on the afternoon. Liz Harrison finished the game with a team-high eight, while Sawers and Kaitlyn Davies each added two.
Hall posted a career-high five groundballs to lead the way for Florida, followed by a personal-best three from freshman Theresa Bragg.
In the cage, Sarah Reznick posted 11 saves with a .688 save percentage to earn her 11th victory of the season.
The Gators are back in action on April 22 for Senior Day against Vanderbilt. Opening draw is slated for 12 p.m. at Donald R. Dizney Stadium and fans not in attendance can catch the game on ESPN+.
Records
No. 9 Florida (11-3, 3-1 AAC)
East Carolina (10-5, 3-1 AAC)
How It Happened
* The first quarter saw strong defense from each side, with only four combined goals. East Carolina got on the board first, but Danielle Pavinelli scored the equalizer after crashing to the cage with 12:27 left to play in the first frame.
* The next 12+ minutes were scoreless, until Maggi Hall found the back of the cage with 13 seconds remaining in the frame.
* That looked to be the last goal of the quarter, but with time expiring, Emma LoPinto converted on her free-position attempt to put Florida up 3-1 going into the second frame.
* Two-straight goals by the Pirates tied up the game at 3-all within the first three minutes of the second frame, but Hall netted her second of the day a minute later to give Florida the one-goal advantage.
* Ava Tighe put herself in the goal column with an unassisted score, then just under six minutes later, Emerson Cabrera cashed in on a pass from Hall to put the Gators up three.
* With just over a minute left in the half, LoPinto scored her second of the day – with the dish from Hall – to give Florida the 7-3 lead.
* On an almost identical play as the goal before, the duo of LoPinto-Hall teamed up again to put the Gators up five heading into the locker room.
* The third quarter was a scoreless 15 minutes for each side, so Florida held the 8-3 lead heading into the final frame.
* The Gators scored the first two goals of the fourth – with Pavinelli and Madison Waters each finding the back of the cage to put Florida up 10-3.
* The final two goals of the game belonged to the Pirates, but the Gators still held on for the 10-5 win to move to 3-1 in conference play.
Notables
* 2023 Hat Trick Counter:
* Emma LoPinto: 9
* The Gators held East Carolina to just five goals on the afternoon, the lowest scoring output for the Pirates this season
* That mark is also the fewest goals Florida has allowed since March 25, 2023 (Cincinnati)
* Sarah Reznick currently sits second in program history in career saves with 534 after her 11-save performance today. She is just 32 away from tying Haley Hicklen for the program record
* The Gators improve to 6-0 in the all-time series against the Pirates, including a 4-0 record in Gainesville, Fla.
* Florida owns an impressive 124-22 (.849) record in the confines of Donald R. Dizney Stadium
* The Gators have now won 48 of their last 49 regular season conference games
* Florida moves to 8-0 against unranked opponents during the 2023 campaign
* UF extends its win streak to six-straight games, having gone a perfect 4-0 in the month of April
* Streaking: Sarah Reznick has recorded a save in 65-straight games, a new program record
* Streaking: Danielle Pavinelli has registered a point in 39-straight games (tied for sixth-longest streak) and a goal in 37-straight games (third-longest streak)
* Streaking: Emily Heller has recorded a draw control in 37-straight games, tied for the second-longest streak in program history
* (if Maggi Hall assist) Streaking: Maggi Hall has dished out an assist in seven-straight games, tied for the seventh-longest streak in program history
Career-Highs
* Kaitlyn Davies
* Tied career-high in draw controls (2)
* Alexa Waters
* Tied career-high in groundballs (2)
* Catherine Flaherty
* Tied career-high in groundballs (2)
* Maggi Hall
* Career-high in groundballs (5) and tied career-high in caused turnovers (2)
* Theresa Bragg
* Career-high in groundballs (3) and tied career-high in caused turnovers (1)
* Ava Tighe
* Career-high in groundballs (2) and tied career-high in caused turnovers (1)
*
Insight from O’Leary
* “It was a defensive battle today on both sides of the field. Credit ECU, they are a very strong team and we played hard today to get the conference win.”
Up Next
* The Gators are back in action on April 22 for Senior Day against Vanderbilt
* Opening draw is slated for 12 p.m. at Donald R. Dizney Stadium and
* Fans not in attendance can catch the game on ESPN+
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