No. 4 Florida Lacrosse Clinches At least Share Of Big 12 Regular-Season Title

After holding Stetson to a season-best just four goals Tuesday night, the No. 4 Florida lacrosse team reached a record against Cincinnati a few days later by only allowing two goals in clinching at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season title.

The Gators (14-2, 4-0 Big 12) defeated the Bearcats 20-2 Saturday at the Donald R. Dizney Stadium to mark their 11th straight win and the seventh time they have held a team to under 10 goals this season, ranking it 23rd nationally in scoring defense (10.07 goals allowed/game). 

“I think Theresa (Bragg), Ashley (Dyer), Sam (Hughes), Celeste (Forte), they’re just such a really cohesive group defensively, and then you add in the midfielders who have just done their jobs defensively as well as offensively, and it makes a really solid unit back there,” UF coach Amanda O’Leary said. “I’m really proud of Kaitlyn and Theresa being named to the Tewaaraton list, which is like the Heisman of lacrosse.”

The key in Florida’s performance was redshirt junior goalkeeper Elyse Finnelle’s eight saves. Finnelle locked down the net throughout her 39 minutes of play, only allowing one goal and recording a .889 save percentage to the Bearcats (8-8, 1-3).

“We haven’t even seen the best of Elyse,” O’Leary said. “She’s playing better and better every single game, and I think her best lacrosse is in front of her.”

In just the first quarter, six different Gators recorded goals to contribute to an 8-0 run. UF freshman attacker Clark Hamilton started it with a goal off a free-position shot just three minutes in. 

“One of the things we’ve kind of talked about is getting out to a quicker start, we’ve had some games … where we haven’t actually gotten out of the locker room very quickly and on the field,” O’Leary said. “Competing from start to finish, I think was really, really wonderful. I thought our team stepped up, top to bottom.”

UF junior midfielder Kaitlyn Davies stole the ball from Cincinnati junior defender Mia Federovich for a chance at goal by herself at 4:55. The Tewaaraton finalist sprinted down the field for a 1 on 1 with Cincinnati sophomore goalkeeper Hailey Darko. She then launched the ball into the back of the net to notch her second goal of the first quarter. 

Davies tallied her fifth hat trick of the season by the second quarter and ended the afternoon with four goals. 

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Meanwhile, UF junior attacker Gianna Monaco also recorded four goals. The fourth-leading goal scorer in the league had her 11th hat trick of the season by the third quarter.  

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UF graduate student midfielder Jenny Markey followed with three goals and a hat trick of her own. Freshman midfielder Gabby Greene, sophomore midfielder Gabbi Koury and Hamilton also had multi-goal performances to contribute with two goals apiece. 

UF redshirt attacker Frannie Hahn, the freshman assist leader (46), had a team-high five assists and one goal as well.

Overall, the Gators were able to convert on 27 shots on goal into 20 goals. They also capitalized on 12 Bearcat turnovers. 

In the draw circle, UF dominated with 15 draw controls, compared to Cincinnati ’s 12. 

It wasn’t until the second quarter that the Bearcats were able to get on the scoreboard. Cincinnati junior attacker Camryn Callaghan scored her 44th goal of the season at 3:20. 

Still, UF entered halftime with a steady 12-1 lead, with four players already having multi-goal performances. 

Graduate student goalkeeper Georgia Hoey was substituted in at 5:21 in the third quarter. About one minute into this change, Cincinnati sophomore midfielder Hailey Joy Simpson scored her first goal of the game to bring the score to 16-2.  

However, Markey responded with a goal to enter the final period at a 17-2 advantage. 

In the net, UF freshman goalkeeper Susan Radebaugh replaced Hoey in the fourth quarter, blocking a free-position shot by Cincinnati freshman attacker Paige Selhorn. 

“We challenged our three goalies this week to really step up, and I think all three of them stepped up,” O’Leary said. “I thought Georgia played great … Susan did really well. I’m really proud of our goalkeeping efforts in this game, especially because it’s hard to come off the bench.”

Offensively, Florida’s scoring momentum continued with Greene, freshman midfielder Ryann Frechette and senior midfielder Macy Zaban each scoring one goal. 

UF’s all-time series lead is now 14-0 against Cincinnati.

Up Next

Florida hopes to extend its winning streak against Arizona State University (9-6, 2-1) on April 26 at 10 a.m. at the Donald R. Dizney Stadium.