Florida improves to 5-0 in conference play and have secured at least a share of the AAC Regular Season Title.
CINCINNATI, Ohio – The No. 9 Florida lacrosse team (14-2, 5-0 AAC) won their 14th straight game of the season, defeating their AAC counterpart Cincinnati (10-6, 2-3 AAC) by a score of 18-6 on Saturday afternoon.
The Gators never trailed in this contest, and led by as many 13 goals. They used two 7-0 runs, one in the first and one in the second half to create the separation needed to pull away.
Florida had 10 different goal scorers, charged ahead by the trio of Maggi Hall (three goals, three assists), Danielle Pavinelli (three goals, one assist), and Ashley Gonzalez (three goals, two assists), who combined for nine of the teams 18 goals, six of the teams eight assists, and 15 of the teams 26 points. Emily Heller and Gianna Monaco contributed with multi goal games, along with Madison Waters, Hannah Heller, Cate Isaacson, Gabbi Koury and Sarah Falk who scored one each.
Florida doubled up Cincinnati in the draw circle, winning that battle 18-9. Liz Harrison got back on track, winning 14 draw controls which was good for her 12th double digit game of the season.
The Gators defense held the Bearcats to six goal on .207 percent shooting, as Ashley Dyer set career highs in ground balls and caused turnovers with three each. Pavinelli tied a career high three caused turnovers, and Hall scooped three ground balls. Elyse Finnelle was lock down in net again, re-setting her career high saving 14 shots. This was her second straight game with 10 or more saves, and her fourth overall.
How It Happened
* After a save from Finnelle and a successful clear into the Bearcats attacking zone, Monaco drew a free position opportunity and converted at the 13:27 mark to give the Gators a 1-0 lead.
* 53 seconds later, Heller scored her 11th free position goal of the season, putting the Gators up two.
* Following a goal from Cincinnati, the Gators rallied with five unanswered goals of their own in a six-minute span. Three of them came via free position shots, as Hall had two and Heller had one. Koury and Pavinelli scored the other two off assists from Gonzalez and Waters to give UF a six-goal cushion with 3:48 left.
* The Bearcats scored two goals to end the quarter, including a Lindsey Durkota finish with seven seconds left, to cut the Florida lead to 7-3 after one.
Second Quarter
* It took just 24 seconds for the blue and orange to score. Off the draw control win from Harrison, the Gators marched into the Bearcats zone where Pavinelli drew a foul, and connected on the eight-meter opportunity to make it 8-3.
* Off an intercepted pass from Dyer around midfield, the Gators quickly capitalized as she got it up to Hall, who fed Monaco for the score, putting the score at 9-3.
* Gonzalez scored back-to-back goals in 57 seconds, scoring one off a free position opportunity and the other off an assist from Monaco to increase the lead to eight with 6:55 left.
* 37 seconds later, Pavinelli caused a turnover on the Bearcats clear attempt, leading to her finding Hall for the conversion to push the score to 12-3.
* Falk and Waters concluded a 7-0 Gators run off assists from Gonzalez and Hall to give UF an 11-goal advantage with 2:36 left. A late Bearcats goal, brought the Gators into halftime up 10.
Third Quarter
* UF scored three goals to begin the quarter, as Hannah Heller kicked it off with a free position score, followed by goals from Gonzalez and Pavinelli to push the lead to a baker’s dozen with 6:34 left.
* The Bearcats got one with 1:09 left in the quarter, to make it 17-5 after three.
Fourth Quarter
* Isaacson kicked off the fourth quarter scoring on an unassisted dodge from the right wing into the middle, putting the Gators back up 13.
* A Bearcats score was the last bit of scoring on the afternoon, as Florida went on to win 18-6.
Coach O’Leary’s Insight
“I’m so proud of this team and how they played today. We had a very good week of practice and they came out ready to go. Cincinnati is a great team and very well coached, so we needed to play our best to win. Elyse was fantastic in goal and our defense was outstanding. Offensively we shared the ball well and saw a lot of different goal scorers. We look forward to honoring our seniors against Temple next Saturday!”
Key Notes
* Florida improves to 13-0 all-time against the Bearcats, securing their 11th win by 12 or more goals
* UF owns a 30-1 record in AAC history
* The Gators scored a season high nine free position goals
* UF led the assists battle 8-2
* Celeste Forte made her second career start
* Florida has clinched a share of the AAC Regular Season Title
* The Gators shot .581 from the field today, good for their 10th game this season shooting over .500
* This is the Gators 11th win by 10 or more goals
Season/Career Highs
* Ashley Dyer – career high three ground balls and three caused turnovers
* Elyse Finnelle – career high 14 saves
* Danielle Pavinelli – season high three caused turnovers
Active Streaks (eight games or better)
* Maggi Hall<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-lacrosse/roster/maggi-hall/16408>: points (35)
* Emily Heller<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-lacrosse/roster/emily-heller/16410>: points (23), goals (17)
* Liz Harrison: draw controls (17)
* Danielle Pavinelli: points (15)
* Ashley Gonzalez: points (14)
* Sarah Falk: points (12)
* Elyse Finnelle: saves (8)
Next up
No. 9 Florida (14-2, 5-0 AAC) look to seal the AAC Championship outright, as they return home next Saturday for Senior Day against Temple at 12 p.m.
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