Florida’s offense explodes for 19 goals; defense holds Cincinnati to just five goals in the game
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The 11th-ranked Florida lacrosse team capped of this weekend’s series with a dominating 19-5 win over the Cincinnati Bearcats on Sunday afternoon.
The Gators improve to 7-2 on the year and remain unbeaten in the American Athletic Conference at 4-0, while the Bearcats drop to 4-6 on the year and 0-4 in league play.
Shannon Kavanagh and Danielle Pavinelli led the offensive attack for Florida, each scoring four goals on the afternoon.
Grace Haus, Emily Heller, Brianna Harris and Kassidy Bresnahan each found the back of the cage twice in the victory, while Paisley Eagan, Maggi Hall and Kaala Puglisi tallied a goal apiece against the Bearcats.
Seven different Gators each recorded one assist on the afternoon: Kaitlyn Dabkowski, Bresnahan, Eagan, Harris, Haus, Heller and Kavanagh.
The Gators won 14-of-26 draw controls in the game, led by a career-high five from Heller.
As a squad, Florida held the Bearcats to 5-of-20 shooting on the afternoon and recorded 10 caused turnovers in the win. Dabkowski posted a team-high two caused turnovers, while eight other Gators each recorded one apiece.
Sarah Reznick, Julia Hammerschlag and Hall each registered a team-best three groundballs in the victory.
Reznick had a lights out day in the cage, recording nine saves and allowing only three goals for a .750 save percentage. Hammerschlag recorded a career-best two saves in the game for a .500 save percentage.
The Gators are right back in action on Thursday at Donald R. Dizney Stadium for the first of a two-game series against the East Carolina Pirates. Thursday’s game is slated for a 4 p.m. start, while Saturday’s opening draw is set for 11 a.m.
Records
No. 11 Florida (7-2, 4-0 AAC)
Cincinnati (4-6, 0-4 AAC)
How It Happened
* Shannon Kavanagh picked up right where she left off in Friday’s game, scoring 14 seconds into play to give Florida the early 1-0 lead.
* Cincinnati responded with back-to-back goals, taking its first lead of the game and the series with 27:21 remaining in the first half.
* The Gators answered with four-straight goals from Kavanagh, Brianna Harris, Danielle Pavinelli and Grace Haus to take the 5-2 advantage with just under 22 minutes left in the half.
* Cincinnati scored its last goal of the half with 18:39 left in the first frame, with Florida’s defense locking down to hold them scoreless through halftime.
* For the final 15:38 of the first half, it was all Florida, with the Gators going on an 8-0 run to take the 14-3 lead into the locker room. During that stretch, Emily Heller and Pavinelli each registered two goals, while Paisley Eagan, Maggi Hall, Kassidy Bresnahan, Kavanagh and Harris all found the back of the cage once during the run.
* Out of the rocker room, the Gators kept it rolling – firing off four-straight goals from the sticks of Bresnahan, Pavinelli, Kavanagh and Haus to put Florida up 18-3 with just under 19 minutes left to play.
* Cincinnati scored back-to-back goals within the span of four minutes to cut Florida’s lead to 13, but Kaala Puglisi netted her first goal of the season with 9:20 left to secure the 19-5 victory for the Gators.
Insight from O’Leary
* “Our team competed really well from top to bottom, so very happy with today’s performance. We saw another big team win and I’m just impressed with what we did today. We came out of the locker room ready to go and it was a great win for us.”
Notables
* Danielle Pavinelli notched a career-high four goals in the win
* Emily Heller registered a career-best five draw controls on the afternoon
* Julia Hammerschlag recorded a career-best two saves, three groundballs and one caused turnover on the afternoon
* The Gators improve to 9-0 in the all-time series against the Bearcats
* Florida is now 6-0 against Cincinnati in Gainesville, Fla.
* Streaking: Sarah Reznick has now recorded a groundball in 13-straight games, tying her for the fifth-longest stretch in program history
* Streaking: Shannon Kavanagh extended her streak for consecutive games to 36, the second-longest stretch in program history. She is just four games away from tying Shayna Pirreca’s record of 40 consecutive games
* Florida improves to 111-5 (.957) when facing teams not ranked in the IWLCA Top-25 Poll
* The Gators improve to 140-2 (.986) when scoring at least 14 goals
* UF is now 98-19 (.838) in the confines of Donald R. Dizney Stadium
* Since 2011, the Gators have the third-most wins of any Division I women’s lacrosse program with 164
Up Next
* The Gators are back in action with a two-game series against the ECU Pirates on April 1/3
* Thursday’s game is slated for a 4 p.m. start, while Saturday’s opening draw is set for 11 a.m.
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