Florida completed its ninth undefeated conference season on Saturday with its victory over East Carolina
GREENVILLE, N.C. – The ninth-ranked Florida lacrosse team ended its regular season on a high note, defeating the East Carolina Pirates 16-4 on Saturday afternoon at Johnson Stadium.
With the win, the Gators secure the American Athletic Conference Regular Season Championship outright, having clinched a share last Saturday against Temple. The Gators have won 11-straight games and move to 13-4 on the year and finish the AAC with a perfect 5-0 record, while ECU drops to 9-8 and 2-3 in league play.
With its undefeated conference record, Florida has now achieved that feat nine times in the 13-year history of the program. UF has also have not dropped a conference game since April 18, 2015 and have not lost a regular season conference game since that same day.
That’s 57 games overall and 45 regular season games that Florida has won in conference.
Florida’s offensive attack was led by a three-goal performance from Emma LoPinto, while Ashley Gonzalez, Emerson Cabrera, Paisley Eagan and Janine Suris each added two goals of their own.
Five Gators tallied one goal apiece on the afternoon to help secure the victory: Josie Hahn, Maggi Hall, Emily Heller, Danielle Pavinelli and Kelly Schluederberg.
Six players dished out an assist for Florida in the win: Gonzalez, Hahn, Cabrera, Eagan, Suris and Jill Quigley.
Florida dominated the draw circle, coming up with 16-of-23 wins. Emily Heller led the way with four, while both Hahn and Liz Harrison came up with three draws in the victory.
The Gator defense held the Pirates to just 4-of-21 shooting for a .190 shooting percentage. Florida put on a stellar defensive performance in the first half, keeping East Carolina scoreless for the entirety.
Eagan and Shelton Sawers each picked up a team-high two groundballs in the victory, while nine Gators each registered one.
Sarah Reznick finished the day with a .667 save percentage during her 44:01 in cage, allowing just two goals and registering four saves. The two goals allowed ties her career-best mark, which she has set five times. Julia Hammerschlag saw 15:59 between the pipes, recording one save, while allowing two goals.
The Gators – who have earned the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament – now await to see their opponent for the AAC Semifinal game on May 5. Florida will play in the 4:30 p.m. game, streamed on ESPN+.
Records
No. 9 Florida (13-4, 5-0 AAC)
East Carolina (9-8, 2-3 AAC)
How it Happened
* Ashley Gonzalez got the Gators off to a quick start, scoring on an unassisted goal just 44 seconds in the game. Florida pulled ahead 2-0 after Emerson Cabrera found a cutting Emma LoPinto on a woman-up opportunity with 8:31 remaining in the first frame.
* LoPinto tallied her second goal of the day and 50th of the season with just over two minutes left in the first frame on a fast-break opportunity from Josie Hahn, putting Florida up 3-0.
* With 25 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Paisley Eagan converted on a free-position attempt, giving the Gators the four-goal lead and all of the momentum going into the second.
* Emerson Cabrera and Maggi Hall went back-to-back on unassisted goals within the span of 2:14 to give the Gators the 6-0 lead with 7:30 left in the first half.
* Florida kept it rolling, with four-straight goals from the sticks of Janine Suris, Hahn, Cabrera and Gonzalez to put Florida up 10-0 with 1:23 left to play in the half and start the running clock.
* Florida’s defense held ECU scoreless for the entirety of the first half, keeping them 0-for-8.
* ECU got on the board first in the second half, scoring just under a minute into the frame to cut UF’s lead to nine, but Emily Heller responded with the equalizer to put the running clock back on at the 13:32 mark in the third.
* LoPinto tallied her ninth hat trick of the season, netting her third goal of the day to give Florida the 11-goal lead with 9:09 left to play in the third. That was followed moments later by Danielle Pavinelli’s first score, with the sophomore finding the back of the cage on a pass from Eagan.
* Eagan netted her second goal of the game – this time on a pass from Suris – to put Florida up 14-1 with 4:58 remaining in the third quarter.
* The Pirates got one back with less than a minute left in the third quarter, but Florida took the 12-goal lead into the final frame.
* With just over four minutes gone in the fourth, Suris found the back of the cage for the second time, setting a new career-high. Kelly Schluederberg followed with her first score, putting Florida up 16-2 with just over nine minutes to play.
* The Pirates would claim the next two goals, cutting Florida’s lead to 12, but the Gators were able to hold on for the 16-4 victory to win their 11th-straight game.
Notables
* For the 42nd time in program history, the Gators allowed four or fewer goals in a game. This is the first time this season that Florida has held an opponent to four or fewer goals
* Florida improves to 4-0 against the Pirates in the all-time series, including a 1-0 record in Greenville
* The Gators have not dropped a conference game since April 18, 2015 and have not lost a regular season conference game since that same day
* That’s 57 games overall and 45 regular season games that Florida has won in conference
* Florida is 11-0 this season against teams not ranked in the IWLCA/ILWomen Top-25 poll
* When scoring at least 14 goals, the Gators are 162-2 (.988) in program history
* Streaking: Sarah Reznick has recorded a save in 46-straight games, the second-longest streak in program history
* Streaking: Danielle Pavinelli has registered a point in 20-straight games
* Streaking: Emma LoPinto has tallied a point in 14-straight games
* Streaking: Emily Heller has recorded a draw control in 17-straight games
* Streaking: Liz Harrison has recorded a draw control in 14-straight games
Career-Highs
* Janine Suris recorded a career-high two goals in the games
* Josie Hahn tied her career-best in assists (1) and draw controls (3)
* Maeson Tydings tied her career-high with one draw control
* Sarah Reznick tied her career-best with one caused turnover
Insight from O’Leary
* “We brought a lot of energy out right from the start and it really showed today. Things were working on both ends of the field for us and we are excited to take this momentum into the postseason.”
Up Next
* The Gators – who have earned the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament – now await to see their opponent for the AAC Semifinal game on May 5.
* Florida will play in the 4:30 p.m. game, streamed on ESPN+.
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