Florida moved to 2-0 in AAC play after picking up the series sweep over Temple
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The 11th-ranked Florida lacrosse team completed the weekend sweep of No. 25 Temple after defeating the Owls 14-7 on Sunday afternoon at Howarth Field.
The Gators move to 5-2 on the year, including a 2-0 record in conference play, while Temple drops to 4-3 overall and 0-2 in AAC games.
Shannon Kavanagh led the way offensively, producing her sixth hat trick of the season behind a four-goal performance. Grace Haus also nabbed a hat trick on the afternoon, tallying three goals in the win.
Paisley Eagan and Ashley Gonzalez each scored two goals apiece, while Kassidy Bresnahan, Maggi Hall and Brianna Harris each found of the back of the cage once.
Kavanagh led the way with three assists, tying her season-high mark of seven points. Haus added two helpers on the afternoon, while Harris and Gonzalez each dished out one assist in the win.
Kavanagh recorded a team-high five draw controls, followed by two from both Eagan and Cara Trombetta.
The defense was lights out on the afternoon, holding Temple to seven goals and a .280 shooting percentage. Trombetta and Kaitlyn Dabkowski marked Temple’s two biggest scoring threats in Mastropietro and Hoffman, holding the duo to just 2-of-9 shooting with two assists.
As a team, Florida recorded 12 caused turnovers, led by three from Trombetta. Danielle Pavinelli and Jill Quigley each recorded a career-high two caused turnovers in the victory.
Trombetta totaled six groundballs on the afternoon, tying the career-high she set in Friday’s game. Sarah Reznick also tied her career-high with four, while Emma Wightman and Eagan each picked up three groundballs.
Reznick had a stellar game in goal, allowing just six goals while registering 10 saves in her 57:52 in the cage. The redshirt-freshman notched a season-high .625 saves percentage on the day. Julia Hammerschlag came into the game for the final minutes, tying her career-high with one save.
The Gators are back in action for a two-game series on March 26/28 against Cincinnati as the squad finally makes their 2021 debut at Donald R. Dizney Stadium. Friday’s opening draw is slated for 4 p.m., while Sunday’s game is set for 12 p.m.
Records
No. 11 Florida (4-2, 1-0 AAC)
No. 25 Temple (4-2, 0-1 AAC)
How It Happened
* Temple got on the board first, finding the back of the cage just under 90 seconds in, but Shannon Kavanagh picked up right where she left off in Friday’s matchup, firing one to tie it up 1-1 with 26:52 left in the first.
* Kavanagh tallied her second goal of the day five minutes later, putting the Gators up 2-1. Both defenses were locked in, holding the other scoreless for over nine minutes of play before Grace Haus fired one to put Florida up 3-1 with 12:14 left in the half.
* Paisley Eagan notched back-to-back goals within a minute of one another, putting Florida up 5-1 with 10:32 remaining in the first half.
* Ashley Gonzalez recorded her first goal of the game on a fast break pass from Haus, giving the Gators the five-goal lead.
* After a defensive stop by Temple, Maggi Hall forced a turnover in the Owls’ defensive zone, picking up the groundball and scoring an empty net goal to put Florida up 7-1 with 4:16 left in the first.
* The Owls scored back-to-back goals in the final two minutes of the frame, but Florida was able to take the four-goal lead into the locker room.
* Haus scored her second goal of the day on, scoring a diving goal on a pass from Kavanagh to put Florida up 8-3 early in the second half.
* Temple went back-to-back to pull within three at 8-5, but Kavanagh netted her third goal of the day to put the Gators back up four with just over 20 minutes remaining.
* Florida continued to extend its lead after Haus and Gonzalez each found the back of the goal within 25 seconds of the other, putting the Gators up 11-5 with 16:28 left.
* Kavanagh scored a behind-the-back goal to put Florida up seven goals and was followed by Brianna Harris, who her first goal of the day to give the Gators the 13-5 advantage with 7:37 remaining.
* Temple pulled with within seven goals with 6:37 left, but Kassidy Bresnahan fired one away to put Florida up 14-6 with just over five minutes to play. The Owls scored one last goal with less than two minutes remaining, but the Gators held on to win 14-7.
Insight from O’Leary
* “The team had a really solid performance today on both ends of the field. Sarah was terrific in the cage, coming up with some huge saves, while Cara played lights out to anchor our defensive effort.
* We saw a lot of improvement on the draw, which was a point of focus in yesterday’s practice. Offensively, we saw many different goal scorers, coming from unselfish play.
* Shannon and Grace continued to play at a very high level, contributing on both ends of the field. Overall, I am very pleased with how we performed in our first conference weekend.”
Notables
* Trombetta tied her career-high in groundballs (6)
* Reznick tied her career-high in groundballs (6)
* Quigley and Pavinelli each recorded a new career-best in caused turnovers (2)
* Kavanagh notched her sixth hat trick in seven games this season, finishing with four goals on the afternoon
* Haus notched her third hat trick this season, finishing with three goals on the afternoon
* Streaking: Kavanagh’s 34 consecutive games with a goal is the second-longest streak in program history (Record – 40 games, Shayna Pirreca)
* Streaking: Reznick has tallied a groundball in 11-straight games, tied for the sixth-longest streak in program history
* The Gators remain undefeated against the Owls, moving to 11-0 in the all-time series
* Florida is now 5-0 against Temple in Philadelphia, Pa.
* When scoring at least 14 goals, the Gators are 138-2 (.986) in program history
* Since 2011, Florida has the third-most wins of any Division I women’s lacrosse program with 163
Up Next
* The Gators finally open the home portion of their schedule as they welcome Cincinnati for a two-game AAC series on March 26/28
* Friday’s game is set for 4 p.m., while Sunday’s opening draw is slated for 12 p.m. at Donald R. Dizney Stadium
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