Florida wins its 10th conference tournament championship, including its ninth-straight title
Box Score<https://floridagators.com/documents/2023/5/6/AACChamp.pdf>
PHILADELPHIA – The eighth-ranked Florida lacrosse team secured its 10th conference championship after defeating No. 6 James Madison 9-8 on Saturday afternoon.
The Gators secured their ninth-straight tournament championship and 10th overall with the win. It was Florida’s 12th appearance in the tournament championship, winning 10-of-12 times.
UF improves to 16-3 on the season and is riding an 11-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament, while James Madison falls to 17-2 on the year, with the Gators breaking the Dukes’ 17-game win streak.
Redshirt junior Sarah Reznick was named as the AAC Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, while Maggi Hall, Emma LoPinto, Danielle Pavinelli, Madison Waters and Becky Browndorf were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Florida’s offensive attack was led by Danielle Pavinelli, who posted a three-goal performance on the day. Madison Waters and Emma LoPinto each added two goals in the victory, while Emily Heller and Maggi Hall each found the back of the cage once.
Hall posted a team-high three assists in the win, while Ashley Gonzalez (2) and Pavinelli (1) combined for three helpers.
The Gators won 12-of-19 draw controls in the game, led by seven from Liz Harrison. Emily Heller and Shelton Sawers each posted two draw controls of their own in the game.
Florida held James Madison to 8-of-24 shooting (.333) on the afternoon, tallying six caused turnovers. Browndorf led the way with three, while Harrison, Sawers and Emerson Cabrera each recorded one.
Sawers posted a team-high three groundballs in the game, while M. Waters and Heller both registered two in the victory.
Sarah Reznick was tabbed as the 2023 Most Outstanding Player after tallying 10 saves for a .556 save percentage on the day.
The Gators now await the NCAA Tournament Selection Show to determine their postseason destination. The women’s selection show is slated for Sunday at 9 p.m. and will air on ESPNU.
Records
No. 8 Florida (16-3)
No. 6 James Madison (17-2)
How It Happened
* The Gators struck first, scoring just 49 seconds in after Maggi Hall found Madison Waters in front of the cage for the goal.
* Florida kept it rolling after a defensive stop, with Ashley Gonzalez feeding to Danielle Pavinelli for the finish to put the Gators up 2-0 with just under three minutes played.
* James Madison went on a two-goal run, tying the game at 2-all heading into the first quarter media timeout.
* Out of the media timeout, the two squads were held scoreless for the final 7:53 of the first frame to take a tied game into the second.
* The Gators got on the board first in the second 15 after some stellar offensive moment, with Hall setting up Emma LoPinto on the woman-down opportunity to give Florida the 3-2 advantage.
* Just over three minutes later, the Dukes found the back of the cage, once again tying the game.
* James Madison took its first lead of the game with 7:47 left in the first half, but Emily Heller rocketed a shot past the Dukes’ goalie to knot the game at 4-all under a minute later.
* In the final four minutes of the half, James Madison went on a 2-0 run to take the 6-4 lead, but Pavinelli found a cutting Hall to pull within one with 17 seconds left in the frame.
* Pavinelli’s second goal of the afternoon was the equalizer, with her finding the back of the cage just over three minutes into the second half.
* On the very next play, Pavinelli scored again to retake the lead, this time on an assist from Ashley Gonzalez. That was Pavinelli’s fourth hat trick of the season and gave UF the 7-6 lead with 9:59 left in the third.
* The Dukes evened the game once again at the 6:17 mark, tying it at 7-all heading into the media timeout.
* With just under a minute left in the third quarter, James Madison took the one-goal advantage, taking the 8-7 lead going into the final 15 minutes of play.
* LoPinto came around the crease for the wrap-around, game-tying goal with 12:26 left in the game, then just under two minutes later, Hall made the pass to Madison Waters in traffic, giving Florida the 9-8 lead on a woman-up opportunity. That goal ended up being the decider in the championship victory for the Gators.
Notables
* The Gators won their 10th conference tournament championship, including their ninth-straight
* With her fifth save of the afternoon, Sarah Reznick became Florida’s all-time leader in career saves, hitting the 567 mark in just 70 games
* Maggi Hall inched closer to 100 career goals after scoring one against the Dukes. She now sits at 95 in her career
* Liz Harrison tallied her 100th draw control this season in the game
* Hat Trick Counter:
* Danielle Pavinelli: 4
* The Gators broke James Madison’s 17-game win streak, dating back to the second game of the season for the Dukes
* UF evens the series with JMU, pulling to 2-2 all-time
* Florida has now won 66 of its last 67 conference games (regular season and postseason)
* Florida improves to 4-3 against ranked opponents this season, including a 2-3 record against Top-10 opponents
* Streaking: Sarah Reznick has recorded a save in 70-straight games, a new program record
* Streaking: Maggi Hall has dished out an assist in 12-straight games, tied for the third-longest streak in program history
All-Tournament Team
* Most Outstanding Player: Sarah Reznick
* Maggi Hall
* Emma LoPinto
* Danielle Pavinelli
* Madison Waters
* Becky Browndorf
Career-Highs
* Liz Harrison
* Tied career-high in caused turnovers (1)
* Shelton Sawers
* Tied career-high in groundballs (3)
* Becky Browndorf
* Tied career-high in caused turnovers (3)
Insight from O’Leary
* “What a fantastic game between two Top-10 opponents. I am so proud of this team and the fight they showed this afternoon and the entire season thus far. This was a huge team win for us and we are looking forward to seeing what this group can in the NCAA Tournament. Credit to James Madison, they played so hard and gave us a great battle heading into the Tournament.”
Up Next
* The Gators await the NCAA Tournament Selection Show to determine their postseason location
* The selection show will air on Sunday at 9 p.m. on ESPNU
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