Florida moves to 6-0 this season against teams not ranked in the IWLCA/ILWomen Top-25 Poll
MACON, Ga. – The 10th-ranked Florida lacrosse team used a strong offensive push to defeat the Mercer Bears 19-5 on Wednesday afternoon at Five Star Stadium.
The Gators improve to 7-4 on the year while Mercer drops to 5-3.
Emma LoPinto led the offensive attack for Florida, finishing the afternoon with five goals. Maggi Hall added three goals of her own, while Danielle Pavinelli, Josie Hahn and Ashley Gonzalez each scored twice in the victory.
Five Gators each found the back of the cage once on the afternoon: Emily Heller, Maggie Corbo, Maddie Ellis, Sarah Mackey and Charlotte Harmon.
Gonzalez dished out a team-high two assists, followed by one apiece from LoPinto, Pavinelli, Hahn, Mackey, Janine Suris, Madison Rielly and Paisley Eagan.
Florida won 13 draws in the game, led by four apiece from Heller and Liz Harrison.
The Gator defense held Mercer to 5-of-21 shooting on the afternoon, just a .238 shooting percentage, including a scoreless fourth quarter. The five goals ties the lowest offensive output Florida has allowed this season. As a team, UF caused six turnovers, led by a team-high two from Emma Wightman.
In the cage for the Gators, Sarah Reznick posted 12 saves in the victory with a .706 save percentage, while Julia Hammerschlag saved the one shot she faced for a 1.000 save percentage on Wednesday.
The Gators are back in action on Sunday when the team opens up conference play at Cincinnati. Opening draw is set for 11 a.m.
Records
No. 10 Florida (7-4, 0-0 AAC)
Mercer (5-3, 1-0 Big South)
How it Happened
* Mercer got on the board first just under a minute into the game, but Emma LoPinto scored the equalizer on a pass from Paisley Eagan to knot the game with 11:32 left in the first frame.
* The Bears once again took the lead on a free position conversion, but the Gators tied it up with just over seven minutes remaining in the frame on a rocket from Emily Heller.
* Over the next 10 minutes of play, the Gators completely took over offensively, scoring four unanswered goals, including three-straight from the stick of LoPinto.
* The first goal of the run came with 5:01 left in the first quarter, with Ashley Gonzalez netting her first of the day on a pass from Danielle Pavinelli to put Florida up 3-2. LoPinto then took over, scoring three goals in just over two minutes of play to give the Gators the 6-2 advantage.
* Florida kept it rolling through the middle of the second quarter, with Pavinelli scoring her first of day after dodging three defenders in front of the cage. That score put Florida up 7-2 with just under 10 minutes to play in the half.
* The Bears answered with back-to-back goals from Hailey Rhatigan to cut Florida’s lead to just three at 7-4, but Josie Hahn found the back of the cage for the Gators to put them back up four.
* On a free-position attempt with just over three minutes to play in the half, Maggi Hall converted to give Florida the 5-goal advantage.
* Both defenses held the other scoreless for the final three-minute stretch in the half, but Florida was able to take the 9-4 lead into the locker room.
* The Gators started the second half with 2-0 run, with goals coming from Pavinelli and Gonzalez to give Florida the 11-4 advantage. Mercer got one back with 6:51 left in the third, but Hall netted her second free-position goal of the day, this time on a woman-up scenario to once again put the Gators up seven.
* Janine Suris found a cutting Hahn in front of the cage for her second score of the day with 3:48 remaining in the third quarter and Hall notched her fourth hat trick of the season, on another free-position woman-up opportunity, putting the Gators up 14-5.
* Florida was able to secure the 10-goal lead and the running clock after LoPinto’s fifth goal of the day on a dish from Gonzalez.
* The Gators outscored the Bears 4-0 in the final frame, with goals coming from Charlotte Harmon, Maddie Ellis, Sarah Mackey and Maggie Corbo.
Notables
* The Gators move to 2-0 in the all-time series against Mercer
* Florida is 6-0 this season against teams not ranked in the IWLCA/ILWomen Top-25 poll
* Emma LoPinto secured her fifth hat trick of the season
* Maggi Hall registered her fourth hat trick of the year
* Danielle Pavinelli is on pace to become Florida’s 19th 100-point scorer as she currently sits at 88
* When scoring at least 14 goals, the Gators are 156-2 (.987) in program history
* Streaking: Sarah Reznick has recorded a save in 40-straight games, the third-longest streak in program history
* Streaking: Pavinelli has registered a point in 14-straight games
* Streaking: Emily Heller has recorded a point in 12-straight games
* Streaking: Heller has also recorded a draw control on 11-straight games
Insight from O’Leary
* “Once again impressed with the growth we have seen out of this team since the beginning of the season. They continue to improve on both ends of the field and today we put together a strong performance on a short turnaround after Arizona State. Looking forward to starting conference play on Sunday.”
Up Next
* The Gators are back in action on Sunday when the team opens up conference play at Cincinnati
* Opening draw is set for 11 a.m.
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