Emma LoPinto and Maggi Hall each registered a hat trick in the game
Box Score<https://floridagators.com/documents/2023/5/4/Box_Score.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 – The eighth-ranked Florida lacrosse team is set to make its 13th-straight appearance in the Conference Tournament Championship after defeating the No. 3 seeded East Carolina Pirates 12-9 on Thursday night.
The Gators improve to 15-3 overall, improving their win streak to 10-straight games, while East Carolina drops to 10-8 to cap off its 2023 campaign.
Florida is seeking its 10th overall and ninth-straight conference tournament championship on Saturday when the squad takes on the No. 1 seeded James Madison Dukes at 12 p.m.
The Gators’ offensive attack was led by a three-goal effort from both Emma LoPinto and Maggi Hall, while Emily Heller added two goals on the night.
Madison Waters, Paisley Eagan, Tayler Warehime and Kaitlyn Davies each found the back of the cage once to secure the win.
Hall dished out a team-high and career-high five assists on the night to lead the way for Florida, while Ashley Gonzalez added one helper.
The Gators won 12-of-22 draw controls, with Heller posting a team-high four. Kaitlyn Davies added a career-high three, while Liz Harrison posted two in the win.
Florida held ECU to a .333 shooting percentage, tallying four caused turnovers from four different Gators: Heller, Catherine Flaherty, Theresa Bragg, Ashley Gonzalez.
Danielle Pavinelli posted a team-high four groundballs, followed by two apiece from LoPinto, Flaherty and Josie Hahn.
Sarah Reznick had a day in cage, recording 11 saves on the night with a .550 save percentage in the victory. She is now just four saves away from tying the program record set by Haley Hicklen.
The Gators are back in action for the AAC Championship game on Saturday, taking on No. 5 James Madison. Opening draw is slated for 12 p.m. on ESPN+.
Records
No. 8 Florida (15-3)
East Carolina (10-8)
How It Happened
* Emma LoPinto got the Gators on the board first, dodging her defender to score the unassisted goal 2:31 into the game. ECU answered with the equalizer just a minute later, converting on a free-position attempt.
* Emily Heller cashed in on a free-position attempt of her own with 4:27 left in the first frame to put the Gators up 2-1 and give her her 99th career point.
* The Pirates went on a 2-0 run, taking the 3-2 lead with 2:07 left in the opening frame, but Maggi Hall found Kaitlyn Davies in front of the cage to knot the game at 3-3 just over 30 seconds later.
* With just one second left in the first, ECU found the back of the cage to take the 4-3 lead heading into the second.
* East Carolina started the quarter off with an unassisted goal, taking the two-score lead at 5-3, but Heller’s second goal of the day and 100th point of her career put the Gators within one at 5-4.
* The Pirates once again took the two-goal lead just over a minute later, but Hall dished out her third assist of the night with 7:15 left to play in the half, this time finding Tayler Warehime to cut the deficit to one.
* With 2:51 left in the second frame, the Pirates found the back of the cage to pull ahead 7-5, but Hall drove to cage for her fourth point of the night to get Florida back within one heading into the locker room.
* With just under three minutes gone in the third frame, Hall found Madison Waters cutting for her first of the game, knotting the game at 7-all.
* The final two goals of the third quarter came from the sticks of East Carolina, putting the Pirates up 9-7 heading into the final frame.
* The Gators used a 4-0 run in the fourth to surge past the Pirates and secure the spot in the AAC Championship game.
* That run started after Hall pulled Florida within one with just over 12 minutes left in the game, collecting her sixth point of the game.
* On the very next play, Hall found LoPinto with a stellar feed and LoPinto snuck it past the goalie for the equalizer with 11:35 left.
* LoPinto’s 12th hat trick of the season gave the Gators their first lead since 2-1 with 7:52 left in the game.
* Paisley Eagan scored her 100th career point on a behind-the-back shot to give the Gators the insurance goal with 1:02 left in the game. Ashley Gonzalez found Eagan in front of the cage for her first assist of the day.
Notables
* With the win, the Gators make their fourth AAC Tournament Championship game in four seasons
* Florida has appeared in each conference tournament championship is the program debuted in 2010
* With her first point of the evening, Paisley Eagan hit the 100-career point milestone, becoming Florida’s 24th 100-point scorer
* With her second point of the game, Emily Heller hit the 100-career point milestone, becoming Florida’s 23rd 100-point scorer
* Hat Trick Counter
* Emma LoPinto: 13
* Maggi Hall: 8
* The Gators improve to 7-0 in the all-time series against the Pirates, winning the first of the series on at a neutral site
* Florida improves to 12-0 this season against teams not ranked in the IWLCA/ILWomen Top-25 poll
* Florida has now won 65 of its last 66 conference games (regular season and postseason)
* UF extends its win streak to 10-consecutive games, the fifth-straight season that has occurred (minus 2020 COVID-19 year)
* Streaking: Sarah Reznick has recorded a save in 69-straight games, a new program record
* Streaking: Maggi Hall has dished out an assist in 11-straight games, the fourth-longest streak in program history
* Danielle Pavinelli’s streak of 42 consecutive games with a point and 40-straight games with a goal came to an end against the Pirates on Thursday night
Career-Highs
* Kaitlyn Davies
* Career-high in draw controls (3)
* Danielle Pavinelli
* Career-high in groundballs (4)
* Josie Hahn
* Tied career-high in groundballs (2)
* Maggi Hall
* Career-high in assists (5)
* Theresa Bragg
* Tied career-high in caused turnovers (1)
Insight from O’Leary
* “Credit to ECU, they came out strong from the start and got us back on our heels. It is never easy winning a game in postseason play, but we are excited to play another day. We have some work to do prior to Saturday, but proud of the effort we saw tonight.”
Up Next
* The Gators are back in action for the AAC Championship game on Saturday, taking on No. 6 James Madison
* Opening draw is slated for 12 p.m. on ESPN+.
No. 8 Florida vs. No. 6 James Madison Broadcast Information
Time & Date: Saturday, May 7 | 12 p.m.
Live Stats: Statbroadcast<http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=465278>
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