Florida Lacrosse Becomes 2016 Big East Champions

Emotions ran high for many reasons at Sunday’s game against UConn as the Florida lacrosse team clinched the Big East Title with a 13-8 win. It was also Senior Day where Florida’s 10 seniors said goodbye to Dizney Stadium.

This win was a complete turnaround from the end of last season where the Gators lost to the Huskies by just one point.

Many Gators contributed to the win, including four seniors. Fifth year senior Nicole Graziano set a record by scoring her 100th career goal. Fellow seniors Lauren Lea, Devon Schneider, and Carly Ross were also in on the scoring action. Junior Sammi Burgess and freshman Lindsey Ronbeck both tied with Graziano as leading scorers with three goals in the game.

Florida’s defense was just as aggressive. After a slow start, the Gators held the Huskies to zero points for the first 28 minutes of the second half. Graziano says after halftime, the team came out with a new focus. This was also the final home game for senior goal keeper Mary-Sean Wilcox.

In the final minutes of the game, head coach Amanda O’Leary made the decision to put all the seniors on the field to finish their last game at home together.

The Gators ended conference play with an impressive undefeated 7-0 record and a 16-1 overall record. The team will have a short break before heading into the postseason, beginning with the Big East Tournament on May 5th.