In the first weekday game of the season, the fourth ranked Florida lacrosse team would reign supreme over the Jacksonville Dolphins. Underneath the stadium lights, Florida would put up 16 points to Jacksonville’s five.
#GatorsWin pic.twitter.com/KS5Ou2txzB
— Gators Lacrosse (@GatorsLAX) March 1, 2018
Game In Review
Going into halftime, Florida was up 10-1 over their in-state rival.
HALTIME:
@JUWLAX – 1@GatorsLAX – 10#FLax
— ESPN 98.1 / 850 WRUF (@ESPNGainesville) March 1, 2018
Junior midfielder Sydney Pirreca would get things going for Florida, with a goal just 49 seconds into the game. Rising freshman Shannon Kavanagh would also quickly score for the Gators, with Pirreca and Grace Haus adding on to the total as well. Â Jacksonville would allow Florida to score nine unanswered points before finally going on the board with a Jody Julmice goal with under 10 minutes left in the first half.
As the second half began, Shayna Pirreca would add on to Florida’s lead early, scoring a goal one minute into the second half.
#PirrecaPower 👊@ShaynaPirreca puts the Gators up 11-1 & starts the running clock with 29:13 remaining in the game! #GoGators #FLax pic.twitter.com/nDwAnx94gr
— Gators Lacrosse (@GatorsLAX) March 1, 2018
Not to be outdone by her sister, Sydney would score a goal, putting Florida up 12-1 before Jumlice scored for Jacksonville. Kasey Stevens and Alyssa Arnold would add on to Jacksonville’s total, but it was nowhere near enough to come back from the victory.
After the match up, head coach Amanda O’Leary would comment on preparation for another quick turnaround.
“For tomorrow, we’ll do film of tonight and watch film,” said O’Leary. “We also just have to have a really good practice tomorrow also.”
Florida will face third ranked North Carolina in its next match up. This will be the fourth ranked opponent the Gators have faced this year, having already played Colorado, Maryland and Loyola in the opening weeks of the season.
What Lies Ahead
After Florida’s decisive win over the Dolphins, they now look to their first road trip of the season. The Gators will face a tough test in the third ranked Tar Heels and the game takes place on Saturday with the first draw set for 1:15 p.m.