Florida’s journey to its ninth-straight conference tournament championship begins Thursday
Game Notes<https://floridagators.com/documents/2023/5/1/18_AAC_ECU.pdf> | Championship Central<https://theamerican.org/tournaments/?id=284> | Fan Guide<https://floridagators.com/documents/2023/5/1/AAC_WLAX_Champ_-_Temple_Fan_Guide.pdf>
PHILADELPHIA – Three weeks after meeting in the regular season, the No. 8 Florida lacrosse team (14-3, 5-1 AAC) will take on the East Carolina Pirates (10-7, 3-3 AAC) in the second semifinal game of the American Athletic Conference Tournament.
Opening draw is slated 7:15 p.m. on ESPN+ at Howarth Field in Philadelphia.
Andrew Luftglass will serve as the play-by-play announcer for all three games, while Crista Samaras will handle the color duties for the weekend and Renee Washington will be the sideline reporter.
The first semifinal of the day will be between James Madison and Cincinnati at 4:30 p.m. If the Gators were to advance, they face the winner of semifinal No. 1 at 12 p.m. on Saturday.
No. 8 Florida vs. East Carolina Live Stream<https://www.espn.com/espnplus/player/_/id/a10f1d28-d543-4f8b-8c7f-672d214676d1#bucketId=1>
The Gators and the Pirates are meeting for the seventh time in program history, with Florida holding the 6-0 series advantage. The last time these two teams faced off, UF topped East Carolina 10-5 on April 15, 2023 in Gainesville, Fla.
Florida has held ECU to an average of 7.00 goals per game, including a four-goal outing on April 30, 2022 in Greenville, N.C. Meanwhile, the Gators are averaging 17.17 goals per game in the six contests, with the series-high 20 goals coming twice – once in the 2019 campaign and once in the 2021 matchup.
What’s at stake? Florida is looking for the automatic qualifier bid to the NCAA Tournament and looks to claim its 10th conference tournament championship. The Gators have won nine-straight, including the last three in the AAC.
Earlier Wednesday, Florida won two major postseason awards, with Emily Heller being tabbed as AAC Midfielder of the Year and Sarah Reznick earning her third-straight Goalkeeper of the Year award.
The Gators also had nine All-Conference Team selections, including a league-high five First Team honorees in Maggi Hall, Emily Heller, Emma LoPinto, Danielle Pavinelli and Sarah Reznick. Paisley Eagan, Madison Waters, Becky Browndorf and Catherine Flaherty each found themselves on the Second Team.
No. 8 Florida vs. East Carolina Broadcast Information
Time & Date: Thursday, May 4 | 7:15 p.m.
Live Stream: Statbroadcast<http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=465277>
Live Stats: ESPN+<https://www.espn.com/espnplus/player/_/id/a10f1d28-d543-4f8b-8c7f-672d214676d1#bucketId=1>
Series Information – No. 8 Florida vs. East Carolina
Pirates | 2023 season: 10-7, 3-3 AAC
* This is the seventh meeting between the Gators and the Pirates
* Florida leads 6-0
* Home: 4-0 | Away: 2-0 | Neutral: 0-0
* Last Time Out: April 15, 2023 | Gainesville, Fla. | W, 10-5
Fan Information
* Parking: Parking will be available in the Temple Towers Lot located at 1651 N. 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122 ($20 per vehicle). A shuttle will be available to take from the Temple Towers lot to the Temple Sports Complex
* When entering the lot, you will pull a ticket and pay at the exit. Payment is accepted by credit/debit card only
* Street parking may be available, but some restrictions may exist (permits, metered parking, timed limits, etc.) and is at your own risk
* Other area parking lots are not authorized for use and are under private management. Unauthorized vehicles are subject to ticket and tow policies by property owner
* Parking map can be found here<https://floridagators.com/documents/2023/5/1/AAC_WLAX_Champ_-_Temple_Fan_Guide.pdf>
* Shuttle: A shuttle bus will be available for pick up/drop off of fans parking in the Temple Towers Lot. The shuttle will pick up fans at the Temple Towers Lot and drop off at the Temple Sports Complex. Hours for the shuttle are listed below:
* 5/4 – 1:30pm – 11:30pm
* 5/6 – 9:00am – 4:00pm
* Bag Check: For the safety of all spectators, anyone entering the Temple Sports Complex is subject to having their bags, pocketbooks, camera bags, etc., inspected by staff security. Entry may be refused to individuals failing to allow inspections
Florida vs. East Carolina Statistical Comparison
Florida
<<<< | >>>>
ECU
263
Goals
207
129
Assists
73
270
Draw Controls
199
255
Groundballs
247
145
Caused Turnovers
107
524
Shots
463
415
Shots on Goal
331
.502
Shot Percentage
.475
184
Saves
155
.541
Save Percentage
.492
Scouting the Pirates
* East Carolina comes into Thursday’s game with a 10-7 record overall and a 3-3 record in conference play
* The Pirates earned the No. 3 seed in the American Athletic Conference Tournament
* The Gators and Pirates have faced off in the postseason before, having competed in the AAC Semifinal on May 5, 2022. Florida came out with the 18-7 victory in Greenville a season ago
* Frances Kimel leads the way offensively with 70 points (41g, 29a), followed by Ellie Bromley’s 35 points (27g, 8a), Erin Gulden’s 33 points (21g, 12a) and Leah Bestany’s 32 points (26g, 6a). Camryn Pennypacker (28g, 1a), Sophia LoCicero (25g, 2a), Emily Stratton (12g, 8a) and Sophie Patton (10g, 1a) have reach recorded over 10 points throughout the season thus far
* Flynn Reed is well in control of the draw circle for the Pirates, coming up with 80 draw controls in 17 games. Sydney Frank has the next closest with 27
* Defensively, East Carolina has totaled 107 caused turnovers, led by 25 from Alexandra Giacolone. Sydney Frank is the only other Pirate with more than 10 CTs, as she sits at 24 on the year
* Eight East Carolina players have tallied at least 10 groundballs this season: Alexandra Giacolone (45), Sydney Frank (39), Summer Morrison (23), Maddie Kercher (23), Camryn Pennypacker (15), Sophia LoCicero (12), Brynn Knight (12), Caroline Meininger (11)
* In the cage, Brynn Knight has seen a majority of minutes, earning all 10 wins. She has posted 144 saves with a .438 save percentage
#FLax vs. The Field
* Florida holds the 2-1 record against the teams that made the tournament this season, outscoring them 39-24 in those three games
* The Gators are outscoring those opponents 27-12 in the first half
* Emma LoPinto is leading all scorers in the three matchups with 14 points, followed by 12 points from Maggi Hall and eight from Danielle Pavinelli
* Sarah Reznick has allowed 8.36 goals against those three opponents, posting 24 saves with a .511 save percentage
* Liz Harrison (15) and Emily Diaz (13) have combined for 28 draw controls
* Shelton Sawers has a team-high four caused turnovers against those opponents, while four Gators have registered three caused turnovers in the three contests
* In the three conference tournaments thus far, Florida has outscored its opponents 108-43 in the six games of the AAC Tournament
Quick Facts
* 100 Club: The Gators have two athletes on the cusp of entering the 100-point club this season after three players have already hit the mark in the 2023 campaign
* Paisley Eagan is at 99 career points, with 98 of them coming while she has donned the Orange & Blue (one point at Boston College prior to transferring)
* Emily Heller is currently at 98 career points to round out the Gators on a quest to hit the milestone
* The Gators lead the conference in goals per game (15.47), assists per game (7.59), points per game (23.06), shot percentage (.502), draw controls per game (15.88), save percentage (.541), saves per game (10.82)
* Individually, the following players rank in the Top-3 among the conference in the following categories:
* Emma LoPinto
* Goals per game: 3rd | 3.00
* Assists per game: 3rd | 1.41
* Points per game: 2nd | 4.41
* Sarah Reznick
* Save percentage: 1st | .532
* Saves per game: 1st | 8.88
* Goals against average: 3rd | 9.54
* Florida has won 64 of its last 65 conference games (regular season and postseason)
* UF is looking to clinch its ninth-straight conference tournament championship this week and 10th overall
* Florida is 11-0 this season when facing teams not ranked in the Top-25
* The Gators are riding a nine-game win streak coming into Thursday’s contest
* When scoring at least 14 goals, the Gators are 179-2 (.989) in program history
* Streaking: Sarah Reznick has recorded a save in 68-straight games, a new program record
* Streaking: Danielle Pavinelli has registered a point in 42-straight games (tied for fourth-longest streak) and a goal in 40-straight games (tied for second-longest streak)
* Streaking: Maggi Hall has dished out an assist in 10-straight games, tied for the fourth-longest streak in program history
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