GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In the sixth ranked matchup for the Gators this season, the No. 8 Florida lacrosse team used a late surge to defeat the 23rd-ranked Penn Quakers 17-13 on Saturday afternoon.
The Gators improve to 8-3 on the year, winning their last three-straight, while Penn falls to 5-4 in the 2023 campaign.
Florida’s offensive attack was led by Emma LoPinto, who posted four goals on the afternoon. Josie Hahn added a hat trick of her own with three, while Maggi Hall, Danielle Pavinelli, Paisley Eagan and Ava Tighe each registered two in the victory.
Madison Waters and Kaitlyn Davies each found the back of the cage once for Florida.
Ashley Gonzalez dished out seven assists in the win, setting a new program record for assists in a single game. Hall and Pavinelli each added two helpers, while LoPinto rounded out the crew with one assist.
The Gators won 22-of-34 draw controls in the game, with Liz Harrison tallying a team-high 16. That was not only a career-mark for the junior, but also tied the program record for draw controls in a game. Shelton Sawers (3) and Emily Heller (2) combined for five draw control victories in the game.
Florida’s defensive effort held the Quakers to 13-of-35 shooting (.371), while causing 10 turnovers. LoPinto posted a team-high three caused turnovers, followed by two from Becky Browndorf.
Emily Heller and Ashley Gonzalez paced the team with three groundballs a piece, while Sarah Reznick picked up two.
In the cage, Reznick registered 11 saves with a .458 save percentage on the afternoon.
The Gators are back to AAC play in their next contest, traveling to Philadelphia to take on Temple on April 8. Opening draw is set for 12 p.m. on ESPN+.
Records
No. 8 Florida (8-3, 1-1 AAC)
No. 23 Penn (5-4, 2-0 Ivy)
How It Happened
* Penn struck first in the game, but the next three goals belonged to the Gators. The first of the three was a free-position conversion from Madison Waters, followed by a wrap-around goal from Emma LoPinto to put Florida up 2-1.
* The Gators took the 3-1 lead after Kaitlyn Davies scored on a free-position attempt of her own with 8:57 left in the first frame. Penn cut the deficit to one with just over five minutes remaining, but LoPinto found a cutting Josie Hahn with 13 seconds left in the quarter to give Florida the 4-2 advantage.
* The first two goals of the second frame went in favor of Penn, knotting the game at 4-all with 7:12 to play in the half.
* The Gators once again took the lead just under a minute later, when Ashley Gonzalez found Maggi Hall for her first goal the day.
* With under a minute left to play in the half, it looked like Florida was taking just a one-goal lead into the locker room, but the Gators secured two goals in the final 40 seconds – coming from the sticks of Danielle Pavinelli and LoPinto – to hold the 7-4 advantage at the break.
* To start the third, Paisley Eagan found the back of the cage, putting the Gators up 8-4 with just over four minutes played.
* Four of the next five goals belonged to the Quakers, bringing them within one at 9-8. The lone Florida goal during the stretch coming from the stick of Hall.
* Eagan netted her second of the game with 4:29 left in the third frame, but back-to-back Penn goals tied the game up at 10-all heading into the final 15.
* The teams traded goals to start the fourth quarter, with Ava Tighe starting the scoring on an assist from Gonzalez.
* Penn knotted the game at 11-11 shortly after, but LoPinto notched back-to-back goals to put her at four on the afternoon and to give Florida the 13-11 lead.
* Danielle Pavinelli added another into the Gators’ column less than 40 seconds later to put UF up three.
* Penn cut the deficit to two with 6:01 left in the game, but Florida once again went up three goals after Hall found Tighe in front of the cage for the score.
* The next two goals came from the stick of Josie Hahn, giving the Gators their largest lead at 17-12.
* The Quakers scored the final goal of the game with 1:38 left to play, but it was Florida that earned the 17-13 victory.
Notables
* Liz Harrison tied the program record with 16 draw controls in the game (Shannon Kavanagh, Mercer, 5/14/21)
* Ashley Gonzalez set a new program record for assists in a game, finishing with seven
* 2023 Hat Trick Counter:
* Emma LoPinto: 6
* Josie Hahn: 1
* With her two-point performance, Paisley Eagan inched closer to becoming Florida’s 23rd 100-point scorer, as she currently sits at 91
* Emma LoPinto is on track to hit 100 career goals this season, sitting at 93
* She would be Florida’s 16th 100-goal scorer in program history
* If she hits it this season, she would be just the fourth Gator to achieve the milestone in their sophomore season
* Kitty Cullen (35 games), Shannon Kavanagh (41 games), Danielle Pavinelli (42 games)
* The Gators move to 3-3 this season against teams ranked in the IWLCA/ILWomen’s Top-25 poll
* Florida improves to 1-0 in the all-time series against Penn
* UF owns an impressive 122-22 (.847) record in the confines of Donald R. Dizney Stadium
* When scoring at least 14 goals, the Gators are 173-2 (.989) in program history
* Streaking: Sarah Reznick has recorded a save in 62-straight games, a new program record
* Streaking: Danielle Pavinelli has registered a point in 36-straight games and a goal in 34-straight games (third-longest streak)
* Streaking: Emily Heller had recorded a draw control in 34-straight games, tied for the second-longest streak
Career-Highs
* Six Gators set or tied career-highs in the game:
* Liz Harrison
* Career-high in draw controls (16)
* Emma LoPinto
* Career-high in caused turnovers (3)
* Josie Hahn
* Tied career-high in goals (3) and points (3)
* Ashley Gonzalez
* Career-high in assists (7), points (7) and groundballs (3)
* Theresa Bragg
* Tied career-high in caused turnovers (1)
* Ava Tighe
* Tied career-high in goals (2) and points (2)
Insight from O’Leary
* “We saw some really strong performances today. There’s always room to grow, but this was a solid Top-25 win for us as we head back into conference play.”
Up Next
* The Gators are back to AAC play in their next contest, traveling to Philadelphia to take on Temple on April 8
* Opening draw is set for 12 p.m. on ESPN+
Follow the Gators:
#FLax
Twitter<https://twitter.com/GatorsLAX>
Instagram<https://www.instagram.com/gatorslax/?hl=en>
Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/GatorsLAX/?notif_t=page_admin¬if_id=1476735622515956>
