Gators Lacrosse Wins 10th Straight Game

​The Florida Gators lacrosse team delivered a commanding 20–4 victory againt the Stetson Hatters on Tuesday at Donald R. Dizney Stadium to advance its win streak to 10.

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First Quarter

The Gators (13-2, 3-0 Big 12) and Hatters (5-9) both struggled to score early in the first quarter. Stetson struck first at 6:53 with a goal by Sam King taking the lead 1-0. But, Florida responded quickly at 6:10 when Jordan Basso found the back of the net to even the score.

With 2:01 left in the quarter, Gabby Greene put Florida ahead 2-1. The Gators tallied eight shots and three saves compared to Stetson with six shots and three saves.

Florida coach Amanda O’Leary said the Gators need to finish scoring chances.

“I credit them for coming out in that first quarter and really putting us on our heels,” she said. “I don’t think we did a great job of finishing obviously, we had opportunities, didn’t put the ball in the back of the net.”

Second Quarter

Florida exploded in the second quarter to outscore Stetson 10-0 to take a dominating 12-1 lead at halftime.

Kaitlyn Davies opened the scoring with 12 minutes left to make it 3-1 and the Gators carried this momentum to the end of the quarter. At 10:48 Frannie Hahn scored a goal followed by Greene at 10:19 to extend the lead, 5-1.

The Gators controlled the draw to maintain offensive pressure. Riley Zusi scored at 8:55 followed by a Clark Hamilton at 7:10, Basso at 5:29, and Hamilton once again at 4:58 to push the score to 9-1.

Greene completed her first hat trick as a Gator with a goal at 4:26. Alyssa Deacy found the back of the net at 3:25. Hahn closed out the second quarter with a goal at 1:45.

Florida finished the half with 22 shots and four saves, while Stetson had eight shots and three saves.

Florida’s strong defense did not allow Stetson to take shots on the net this quarter.

“I thought defensively we were outstanding from start to finish,” O’Leary said. “I thought that the first group was stellar.”

Third Quarter

Florida continued the momentum out of the locker room. Ava Tighe opened the scoring at 14:21 making it 13-1. Hamilton found the goal from a free-position shot after a foul at 8:24. Gianna Monaco scored her first goal of the game at 5:30, followed by Macy Zaban at 2:03, marking the second goal of her UF career.

Stetson managed to get one back with 47 seconds left, making it 16-2 heading into the final quarter.

Fourth Quarter

Ryann Frechette found the first goal starting with 12 minutes left. This marked the second goal of her career. Tighe earned her second goal of the night with 10 minutes remaining. Coming out of a timeout called by Stetson, Caylin Luciano scored the next goal, the third goal of her career. Sydney Wilson scored the last Gator goal marking the first goal of her collegiate career.

“I thought when our nonstarters went in there was no dropoff,” O’Leary said. “They came in and fluently played the way that our starters did. We see that every day at practice, so it is really exciting when they can come out and compete against someone other then ourselves. ”

Stetson found the back of Florida’s net two more times, but it was not enough to overcome the Gators second-quarter performance.

The Gators have put in a lot of work to maintain this win streak.

“Every single day they want to get better,” O’Leary said. “I think we see that in practice, the extra work they are putting in on their own with film and scout, and just being on the field and doing extra shooting.”

What’s Ahead

The Gators wrap up the regular season at Donald R. Dizney Stadium against Big 10 opponent Cincinnati on Saturday at noon and Arizona State on April 26.