First draw is now slated for 11 a.m. at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The 11th ranked Florida lacrosse team finishes up a five-game home stand, as they host the Liberty Flames on Wednesday at 11 a.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Sean Salisbury on the call. The theme is Pet Adoption Day, where the first 100 fans will receive a Gators dog bowl.
This is the fourth career meeting between the two programs, with Florida winning the previous three, all by at least eight goals. The Gators won last year’s matchup on the road by a score of 16-7, as 10 different players scored, led by Danielle Pavinelli who had five points and Emily Heller who scored twice.
Florida is 9-2 on the season, currently riding a nine-game winning streak. The Gators are coming off a conference victory, defeating Old Dominion by a score of 19-4 on Saturday. UF was led by Maggi Hall and Pavinelli who combined for nine goals and four assists, as a total of 10 different players found the back of the net. Hall and Pavinelli lead the team in points overall, as Hall has 51 (23 goals, 28 assists) and Pavinelli has 43 (20 goals, 23 assists).
Outlook on the Flames
Liberty currently sits at 3-6 on the season, coming off an 11-8 home loss against Louisville last Thursday. The Flames present a balanced offensive attack, with six different players having at least 10 goals on the season. They are led by Mackenzie Lehman who leads the team in goals with 18, along with Jordan Sheive who leads the team in points with 26 (17 goals, nine assists). Liberty is a scrappy team, currently ranking first in the country in caused turnovers (15.78 per game), and fourth in ground balls (22.56 per game).
The Flames are coached by Kelly Nangle, who is in her 11th season as head coach. She is the second coach in the Liberty program, and is the most winningest coach in their history with 88 total wins. Liberty has been to four consecutive Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Championship games, having a winning record in the last five full seasons.
Player of the Week Prowess
Paisley Eagan and Pavinelli secured AAC Player of the Week Honors on Monday, as Eagan was named midfielder of the week and Pavinelli was named attacker of the week. Both players were a big part of the team going 2-0 last week, as the Gators have now had at least one player earn this award for five weeks in a row.
Home Sweet Home
Florida is currently 5-0 at home this season, averaging 19.8 goals per game, and outscoring their opponents by a +12.8 margin per game. The Gators have given up seven goals or less in four of the five home games.
It’s Like Target Practice
The Gators have been super accurate this season, leading the country in shot percentage at .561 percent. Florida set a season best percentage last game, shooting 19 for 26, good for a .731 shooting percentage. They have five games this season with at least a .600 shooting percentage.
Hall of Fame Esque
Hall is in a league of her own, as the senior became the first Gator to reach the triple digit mark in assists. She earned her 100th career assist on Saturday against Old Dominion, now sitting at 28 assists on the season. The Bel Air, Md. native broke the program assists record back on March 8 against San Diego State.
Liz is Legendary
Liz Harrison has been putting up out of this world numbers. The senior currently has 135 draw controls on the season, setting the record for most draw controls in a season which was previously 127. Harrison currently sits just nine draw controls shy of breaking the programs all-time career record of 353 draw controls held by Shannon Kavanagh.
Key Notes
* The Gators are on a 13-game regular season home winning streak, with an overall record of 131-23 at Donald R. Dizney Stadium
* Pavinelli has scored at least two goals in all three meetings against Liberty, including a hat-trick in 2022
* Sarah Falk has had back-to-back multi goal games, and four in her last six games
Milestone Watching
* Emily Heller is three draw controls away from 200 career draw controls
* Danielle Pavinelli is three points away from 250 career points
* Sarah Falk is four points away from 200 career points
* Amanda O’Leary is nine wins away from 400 career wins
* Liz Harrison is nine draw controls away from becoming the program leader
* Ashley Gonzalez is one assists away from passing Shannon Kavanagh for fifth all-time
* Maggi Hall is four points behind Sammi Burgess for seventh all-time
Active Streaks (eight games or better)
* Maggi Hall<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-lacrosse/roster/maggi-hall/16408>: points (30)
* Madison Waters<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-lacrosse/roster/madison-waters/16420>: points (19)
* Emily Heller<https://floridagators.com/sports/womens-lacrosse/roster/emily-heller/16410>: points (18), goals (13)
* Liz Harrison: draw controls (12)
* Paisley Eagan: points (10)
* Danielle Pavinelli: points (10), assists (8)
* Georgia Hoey: saves (9)
Watch No. 11 Florida take on Liberty at 11 a.m.<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/fe642cda-eb8e-453a-96a0-fba964848a6a>
Follow throughout the game for live stats<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=517431>
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