GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The eighth-ranked Florida lacrosse team used a strong effort on both sides of the field to defeat the Colgate Raiders 18-5 on Tuesday night at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
The Gators extend their win streak to four-straight games, improving to 5-2 on the year, while Colgate drops to 1-5 in the 2023 campaign.
Florida had 15 goal scorers in the game, led by a two-goal performance from Madison Waters, Emily Heller and Maggi Hall. 12 Gators each tallied one goal in the win: Emma LoPinto, Gianna Monaco, Tayler Warehime, Janine Suris, Paisley Eagan, Kaitlyn Davies, Danielle Pavinelli, Sarah Mackey, Ashley Gonzalez, Jill Quigley, Kelly Schluederberg and Ava Tighe.
Emma LoPinto dished out a team-high three assists in the victory, while Tayler Warehime and Gianna Monaco each added two helpers. Monaco’s two assists were a career-high for the freshman.
Whitney Albert, Madison Waters and Macy Zaban each added an assist in the scoring column.
Florida won 13-of-26 draw controls on Tuesday evening, led by Emily Diaz’s five. Emily Heller added three on the night, while Paisley Eagan and Liz Harrison each registered two.
The Gators held the Raiders to 5-of-21 (.238) shooting on the night, with Danielle Pavinelli, Becky Browndorf, Elyse Finnelle and Emily Lortz each posting a team-high two caused turnovers.
Six players tallied two groundballs in the win: Madison Waters, Emily Heller, Danielle Pavinelli, Sarah Reznick, Shelton Sawers and Elyse Finnelle.
Sarah Reznick totaled six saves while only allowing three goals during her 30 minutes of play, while Elyse Finnelle posted four saves and only two goals allowed in her 27:31. Sara Grove saw 2:29 in the cage, allowing no goals.
Florida begins American Athletic Conference play with a trip to No. 7 James Madison on Saturday. The game is slated for a 12 p.m. opening draw and can be streamed on ESPN+. This is JMU’s first season in the AAC after leaving the CAA in 2022.
Records
No. 8 Florida (5-2)
Colgate (1-5)
How It Happened
* Colgate struck first in the game, but then the Gators responded with six-straight goals to end the first quarter.
* Florida’s first score came from the stick of Danielle Pavinelli, followed by Ava Tighe’s fifth goal of the season just under four minutes later.
* The Gators took the 3-1 lead after Emma LoPinto found Ashley Gonzalez cutting in front of the cage and then back-to-back goals from Maggi Hall put Florida up 5-1.
* LoPinto converted on a free-position attempt with 15 seconds left in the frame to give the Gators the five-goal advantage heading into the second quarter.
* Emily Heller scored the first goal of the second frame, before Colgate answered with back-to-back scores to pull within four at 7-3.
* The final five goals of the quarter belonged to the Gators, giving Florida the 12-3 lead heading into the locker room. Madison Waters found the back of the cage twice to start the run, followed by the first goal of Kaitlyn Davies career.
* Gianna Monaco and Tayler Warehime combined for the next two goals, giving Florida the nine-goal lead going into the half.
* The first two goals of the second half belonged to the Gators, with Heller’s second goal securing the running clock just over a minute into the quarter. Paisley Eagan scored her first of the day to give Florida an insurance goal at 14-3.
* The Raiders got one back with just over three minutes remaining in the frame to pull within 10, but Kelly Schluederberg’s first goal of the season once again gave Florida the 11-goal lead heading into the final frame.
* Sarah Mackey scored the first goal of the fourth quarter – her first of the season – before Colgate found the back of the cage with 7:50 left in the game.
* The Gators got that one back though, pulling ahead 17-5 after Janine Suris converted on her free-position attempt.
* The final goal of the game came from the stick of Jill Quigley, her first of the year, to secure the 18-5 victory for Florida.
Notables
* Ashley Gonzalez now sits just one point away from becoming Florida’s 22nd 100-point scorer
* Florida extends its win streak to four-straight games
* The Gators improve to 2-1 against Colgate in the all-time series, including a 2-0 record in Gainesville
* Florida owns an impressive 121-22 (.846) record in the confines of Donald R. Dizney Stadium
* When scoring at least 14 goals, the Gators are 171-2 (.988) in program history
* Florida boasts a 39-8 (.830) record all-time in night games
* Streaking: Sarah Reznick has recorded a save in 57-straight games, a new program record
* Streaking: Danielle Pavinelli has registered a point in 31-straight games and a goal in 29-straight games (fifth-longest streak)
* Streaking: Emily Heller had recorded a draw control in 29-straight games, the third-longest streak in program history
Career-Highs
* 11 Gators recorded career-highs in the game
* Madison Waters
* Tied career-high in assists (1)
* Sarah Mackey
* Tied career-high in shots (2)
* Kaitlyn Davies
* Career-high in goals (1), points (1) and shots (3)
* Whitney Albert
* Tied career-high in assists (1) and groundballs (1)
* Macy Zaban
* Tied career-high in assists (1) and points (1)
* Catherine Flaherty
* Tied career-high in draw controls (1)
* Theresa Bragg
* Tied career-high in caused turnovers (1)
* Jill Quigley
* Tied career-high in goals (1)
* Gianna Monaco
* Tied career-high in goals (1) and groundballs (1)
* New career-highs in assists (2) and points (3)
* Elyse Finnelle
* Career-high in minutes played (27:31), saves (4), caused turnovers (2) and groundballs (2)
* Emily Lortz
* Career-high in caused turnovers (2)
Insight from O’Leary
* “We saw a strong effort on both ends of the field tonight from start to finish. Seeing 15 different goal scorers just showed what a team effort this win was.”
Up Next
* Florida begins American Athletic Conference play with a trip to No. 7 James Madison on Saturday
* The game is slated for a 12 p.m. opening draw and can be streamed on ESPN+
* This is JMU’s first season in the AAC after leaving the CAA in 2022
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