Florida was led by four goals apiece from Maggi Hall and Emma LoPinto
Box Score<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_documents_2022_5_5_UF-5F18-5FECU-5F7.pdf&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=7cMkbROnb7B94lz5BIUwLRJJdOhRu_NKbH6yDa0I5HG4O2NLJoYqTYRughVVuObS&s=GM_F2B1RNui3KYUOC97RPgHZWAdkTMNCWXRNi8zRCCI&e= > | Championship Central<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__theamerican.org_tournaments_-3Fid-3D261&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=7cMkbROnb7B94lz5BIUwLRJJdOhRu_NKbH6yDa0I5HG4O2NLJoYqTYRughVVuObS&s=4I3nvq5I8uFJyTEo6r-1r_Z4Bbz36LiZZU5PyEbhGmI&e= >
GREENVILLE, N.C. – The eighth-ranked Florida lacrosse team is headed to the AAC Tournament Championship game after defeating East Carolina 18-7 on Thursday evening at Johnson Stadium.
With the victory, the Gators extend their win streak to 12-straight games and improve to 14-4 on the year, while ECU ends its season with a 9-9 overall record.
Florida is seeking its ninth overall and eighth-straight conference tournament championship, facing the winner of Vanderbilt-Temple on Saturday at 12 p.m.
Florida’s offensive attack was led by Maggi Hall and Emma LoPinto, who each tallied four goals in the victory. With LoPinto’s first point of the day, she broke the Florida freshman record for points in a season, surpassing Ashley Bruns’ record of 79 that has stood since 2010.
Josie Hahn and Emily Heller each added two goals of their own in the game, while six Gators each netted one: Danielle Pavinelli, Paisley Eagan, Emerson Cabrera, Jill Quigley, Kylee Hubiak and Shelton Sawers.
Ashley Gonzalez dished out a team-high and career-high five assists in the victory, the second-highest total for a game in program history. Eagan, LoPinto, Pavinelli and Janine Suris each recorded one helper in the game to give Florida a total of nine assists.
The Gators won 19-of-28 draw controls on the evening, led by four apiece from Hahn and Liz Harrison. Heller added three in the victory, while Kelly Schluederberg added two. Hahn’s four draws were a career-high for the freshman, while Schluederberg’s two tied her career-best mark.
Florida’s defense held ECU to just 7-of-22 shooting, a .318 shooting percentage, while causing five turnovers. Catherine Flaherty recorded a career-high two caused turnovers to lead the way for Florida, followed by one from Eagan, Georgia Ceanfaglione and Emma Panciocco.
Emma Wightman picked up a team-high three groundballs, while Ceanfaglione and Bella Palagonia each registered two in the game.
Sarah Reznick had a solid day in the cage for Florida, registering a .571 save percentage while only allowing three goals in her 39:10. Julia Hammerschlag recorded three saves in her 20:50 in between the pipes.
Records
No. 8 Florida (14-4, 5-0 AAC)
ECU (9-9, 2-3 AAC)
How it Happened
* Paisley Eagan got the Gators off the quick start, dodging three defenders en route to Florida’s first goal of the day, just 44 seconds into the game.
* Just under two minutes later, Josie Hahn found the back of the cage on a dish from Danielle Pavinelli, giving Florida the 2-0 lead.
* The Gator defense continued to hold the Pirates scoreless, causing a turnover to open up the fast break opportunity for Emma LoPinto to find Maggi Hall for the third goal of the game. With that assist, LoPinto broke the record for most points scored by a freshman in their rookie season (Ashley Bruns – 79 – 2010).
* The next three goals belonged to Florida, with the first coming from an unassisted score from Emily Heller to put the Gators ahead 4-0 with 9:37 left in the first frame.
* Hall then followed with her second of the day, this time on an assist from Ashley Gonzalez just 47 seconds later. Gonzalez then found Pavinelli, who netted her first of the day to put Florida up 6-0. East Carolina got one back to cut the deficit to five at 5:28, but Emerson Cabrera answered to bring the lead back to six.
* The final goal of the frame came from the stick of Hall – a hat trick in the first quarter for the sophomore – on a pass from Eagan to put Florida up 8-1 going into the break.
* The Gators kept it rolling in the second quarter, scoring back-to-back goals within the span of 25 seconds from the sticks of LoPinto and Hahn to go ahead 10-1.
* The Pirates converted on a free-position attempt, pulling within eight at 10-2 and bringing the game into a media timeout with 7:26 left in the half.
* Out of the timeout, LoPinto answered with two goals of her own, her 53rd and 54th of the season, to give Florida running clock late in the second quarter.
* Florida scored the final two goals of the second quarter, with Hall and LoPinto each netting their fourth goal of the day.
* Coming out of the halftime break, Heller registered an unassisted score to extend Florida’s lead to 13. Shelton Sawers followed with her first of the day on a pass from Janine Suris with 9:03 left in the third frame to five UF the 14-goal advantage.
* East Carolina scored the last three goals of the third quarter and the first of the fourth, pulling to within 10 with 13:22 left in the game, but Jill Quigley and Kylee Hubiak went back-to-back, once again giving the Gators the 12-goal lead. The Pirates would score one final time in the game, but Florida held on for the 18-7 victory and a ticket to the AAC Championship game.
Notables
* With the win, the Gators make their third AAC Tournament Championship game in three seasons
* Florida moves to 5-0 in the all-time series against the Pirates
* Amanda O’Leary earned her 200th victory at Florida with today’s win
* With her five points, Emma LoPinto has now scored the most points (84) by a freshman in program history, surpassing Ashley Bruns’ record of 79 (2010)
* The Gators are 12-0 this season against teams not ranked in the IWLCA/ILWomen Top-25 poll
* When scoring at least 14 goals, the Gators are 163-2 in program history
* Streaking: Sarah Reznick has recorded a save in 47-straight games, the second-longest streak in program history
* Streaking: Danielle Pavinelli has registered a point in 21-straight games
* Streaking: Emma LoPinto has tallied a point in 15-straight games
* Streaking: Emily Heller has recorded a draw control in 18-straight games
* Streaking: Liz Harrison has recorded a draw control in 15-straight games
Career-Highs
* Ashley Gonzalez dished out a career-high assists and tied her career-best with five points
* Josie Hahn recorded a career-high four draw controls and tied her career-best in goals (2)
* Catherine Flaherty notched a career-best two caused turnovers
* Georgia Ceanfaglione set career-highs in groundballs (2) and caused turnovers (1)
* Emma Panciocco tied her career-high with one caused turnover
* Sarah Mackey and Emerson Cabrera tied their career-best with one draw control
* Jill Quigley and Kylee Hubiak each tied their career-high with one goal
* Kelly Schluederberg tied her career-high with two draw controls
* Bella Palagonia tied her career-best with two groundballs
Insight from O’Leary
* “Our team came out and competed throughout the entire 60 minutes today. We got a lot of people in today and they competed just as hard as our starters. Really proud of this team and what we were able to accomplish on the field this evening.”
Up Next
* The Gators go for their ninth conference tournament championship on Saturday, taking on the winner of Temple/Vanderbilt
* Opening draw is set for 12 p.m. on ESPN+
No. 8 Florida vs. Temple/Vanderbilt Broadcast Information
Time & Date: Saturday, May 7 | 12 p.m.
Live Stats: Statbroadcast<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__stats.statbroadcast.com_broadcast_-3Fid-3D406490-26confid-3Daac&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=7cMkbROnb7B94lz5BIUwLRJJdOhRu_NKbH6yDa0I5HG4O2NLJoYqTYRughVVuObS&s=y7TvTjMjV-9YR3mq6FscOdGNzx8PFuzyJrXMnhpOXM4&e= >
Live Stream: ESPN+<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.espn.com_espnplus_player_-5F_id_525224bd-2D313f-2D4442-2D93b5-2D4d83d9480362-23bucketId-3D1&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=7cMkbROnb7B94lz5BIUwLRJJdOhRu_NKbH6yDa0I5HG4O2NLJoYqTYRughVVuObS&s=NsvgVHjodRbnyWDVF075D3OmJRpPHMd80-olf9GsDk0&e= >
Radio: FloridaGators.com/watch<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_watch_&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=7cMkbROnb7B94lz5BIUwLRJJdOhRu_NKbH6yDa0I5HG4O2NLJoYqTYRughVVuObS&s=yuwnOXYFOAbr-zLukxM4sTmIM0yHSpOajJPRLGZaMiw&e= >
Follow the Gators:
#FLax
Instagram<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.instagram.com_gatorslax_-3Fhl-3Den&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=7cMkbROnb7B94lz5BIUwLRJJdOhRu_NKbH6yDa0I5HG4O2NLJoYqTYRughVVuObS&s=47L7GrgZ0dFL5T2MC_8J4-CjNOjDkyNmoEnBreDwO0s&e= >
Facebook<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.facebook.com_GatorsLAX_-3Fnotif-5Ft-3Dpage-5Fadmin-26notif-5Fid-3D1476735622515956&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=7cMkbROnb7B94lz5BIUwLRJJdOhRu_NKbH6yDa0I5HG4O2NLJoYqTYRughVVuObS&s=-7Mivj358QjURz6olrKzz3Gg9dBMECiuBWYSS1dO8XU&e= >
