Maggi Hall and Danielle Pavinelli each totaled hat-tricks in the loss.
CARY, N.C. – The Florida lacrosse team (20-3, 6-0 AAC) had their historic season come to an end on Friday afternoon, as they fell to the top-seeded Northwestern Wildcats (18-2, 5-1 Big Ten) by a score of 15-11 in the Semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. The Gators close the season with 20 wins, good for a new program best.
The game featured five ties and Florida having two different leads of 1-0, and 2-1. The Gators were trailing 10-9 going into the fourth quarter, before a weather delay of 54 minutes occurred. Florida was outscored 5-2 in the final frame and trailed by as many as five in the fourth. They could not get the deficit under four goals from that point.
The Gators were led by the duo of Maggi Hall and Danielle Pavinelli who combined for 10 of the team’s 15 points. Hall totaled five goals, and Pavinelli scored three while dishing out two assists. Pavinelli totaled her 300th career point, becoming just the third player in program history to reach that mark. Ashley Gonzalez and Madison Waters each recorded one goal and one assist, while Gianna Monaco added a score as well.
Defensively, Theresa Bragg (four), and Kaitlyn Davies (two) both totaled career highs in caused turnovers, combining for six on the day. Elyse Finnelle totaled eight saves, paired with two from Georgia Hoey.
How It Happened
* The Gators set the tone from the beginning, forcing the Wildcats to shoot 0/5 on the first possession of the game. Finnelle totaled three saves, including stopping two free-position shots from Izzy Scane, as Florida got the ball for the first time with 12:35 left.
* Florida scored first for the 21st time this season, as Pavinelli received the pass from Waters and did a quick face dodge to bury it into the back of the net with 11:15 remaining.
* Following a score from Northwestern at the 8:14 mark, Hall drew a foul three minutes later and scored her 20th free position goal of the year to put Florida up 2-1.
* Northwestern scored with 2:04 left in the quarter, before Monaco had a goal taken away the next possession for a dangerous follow through, resulting in a green card. The Wildcats took advantage of the player-up opportunity, scoring with 27 seconds left as the Gators trailed 3-2 after one.
Second Quarter
* The Gators scored first at the 11:47 point. Heller had her free position shot saved, before Pavinelli was able to cause a turnover on the goalkeeper, as she scooped the ground ball and found Gonzalez in front of the cage to tie the game at three.
* The Wildcats scored two straight goals, before Pavinelli found an open Waters in the middle of the field who gently cruised in finding the back of the net. The assist was Pavinelli’s 300th career point, as the Gators trailed 5-4 with 7:32 left.
* Northwestern scored 58 seconds later, before Hall connected on a 2-0 run of her own to tie the game at six. She scored on an eight-meter opportunity (5:47), which was followed by a unique dodge behind the cage (4:58), where she came around the goal to finish the job. The game was tied 6-6.
* A Northwestern goal at the 4:24 point put the Wildcats up 7-6. Three minutes later, Bragg caused a turnover on Erin Coykendall with Waters scooping the ground ball. The Wildcats were issued a yellow card, as the Gators decided to take the player-up advantage into half trailing 7-6.
Third Quarter
* Florida scored 30 seconds into the half on the player-up, via a Monaco goal assisted by Gonzalez to tie the game at seven.
* Madison Taylor scored two consecutive goals, to make it 9-7 before Hall (8:41) and Pavinelli (7:46) converted on eight-meter opportunities to tie it at nine for the fifth tie of the game.
* Northwestern scored on the next possession with 7:09 left, as The Gators trailed 10-9 going into the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
* Following a 54-minute weather delay, the Wildcats opened up the fourth quarter on a 4-0 run, to make the score 14-9 with 7:19 remaining.
* The Gators got one back 19 seconds later, as Pavinelli connected on an eight-meter opportunity for her 11th hat-trick of the season. UF trailed 14-10.
* The two teams then exchanged goals, as Hall scored her fifth goal of the game with 4:33 left to make it 15-11. It was her sixth game of the season with at least five goals. The Gators had their 20-game winning streak snapped, as they fell to the Wildcats.
Coach O’Leary’s Insight
“Huge congratulations to Northwestern. Amazing team, they played extremely well today, so lots of luck to them moving forward… but very, very proud of this team. We have had a long journey to get here, and I’m just so proud of the effort they put forward into making this final four so I’m just really proud of them.”
On the Growth of Lacrosse in Florida
“When you have 40 amazing role models at the University of Florida on the team, I think that certainly helps. I think that any young girl growing up playing lacrosse in the state of Florida can look to our team and want to emulate any of those 40 individuals… They make me so proud with what they do and what they accomplish, not only on the field but off the field.”
Key Notes
* The Gators fall to 6-5 all-time against Northwestern, and 16-13 all-time in the NCAA Tournament
* Today’s attendance was 4,308
* Florida was outshot 31-24, and lost the draw battle 17-11
* Both teams had 15 ground balls and turnovers
* Danielle Pavinelli totaled her 300th point in the second quarter
* This Gators team totaled program season records for wins (20), goals (405), assists (204), draw controls (407) and longest winning streak (20)
* The Gators connected on 5 of 7 free position opportunities
* Hall’s 20 points, and 16 goals this tournament are records for the most by a Florida player in an NCAA Tournament
* Finnelle’s 38 saves is a record for most in an NCAA Tournament
Season/Career Highs
* Theresa Bragg – career high four caused turnovers
* Kaitlyn Davies – career high two caused turnovers
* Madison Waters – season high four ground balls
Active Streaks (eight games or better)
* Maggi Hall<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-lacrosse/roster/maggi-hall/16408>: points (41), goals (14)
* Liz Harrison<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-lacrosse/roster/liz-harrison/16409>: draw controls (23)
* Danielle Pavinelli<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-lacrosse/roster/danielle-pavinelli/16417>: points (21), goals (12)
* Ashley Gonzalez<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-lacrosse/roster/ashley-gonzalez/16405>: points (20), assists (12)
* Elyse Finnelle<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-lacrosse/roster/elyse-finnelle/16402>: saves (14)
* Emily Heller: draw controls (10)
* Paisley Eagan: draw controls (10)
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