Florida Gators lacrosse advances to Big East championship

Report on the Florida Gators lacrosse team:

WASHINGTON — Freshman middie Sydney Pirreca and junior attacker Sammi Burgess each had a hat trick Thursday in an 11-8 Gators win over Georgetown in semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament at Cooper Field in DC. With its second victory against Georgetown this season, No. 2 Florida (17-1) advances to the conference tournament championship game for a second time in as many seasons in the league.
 
Florida, the top seed in the tourney, will square off Saturday at 2:30 p.m. with the winner of Temple, UConn currently being played.
 
The youngest Pirreca put together a hat trick in the first half alone, helping the Gators to a 4-0 start out of the gate, thanks to a pair from the freshman speedster, and scores from Co-Attacker of the Year Sammi Burgess and junior Mollie Stevens, playing in her first game since March 19.
 
Pirreca’s three scores were her second-most on the season since five against UNC Feb. 20 and helped guide the Orange and Blue to their best 18-game start in program history at 17-1.
 
Florida’s keepers helped the cause with a combined 12 saves — the most this season — from senior Mary-Sean Wilcox (7) and freshman Haley Hicklen (5).
 
After grabbing a 5-1 lead, the Orange and Blue succumbed to a 4-0 Georgetown run in the final three minutes of the half for a 5-5 tie at the break. The Hoyas added two straight out of the locker room for a 6-0 run and a 7-5 advantage before Florida countered at the 26:18 mark.
 
Stevens connected with Burgess for Florida’s sixth goal, and sophomore All-BIG EAST Second Team honoree Shayna Pirreca knotted the game at 7-7 with 22:42 on the clock in the second. In a span of 11 seconds, both Florida and Georgetown made it 8-8, the Hoyas with a goal at 15:13, and Florida at 15:03 on a Lindsey Ronbeck fast break from Taylor Bresnahan.
 
Redshirt senior Middie of the Year Nicole Graziano made it career goal No. 101 with a free-position success for the 9-8 lead the Orange and Blue wouldn’t relinquish. After the Gators stalled some time off the clock, senior All-BIG EAST Second TeamerLauren Lea drew a foul and capitalized on another free-position score for a two-goal cushion at 10-8.
 
Burgess added her 99th career goal with 1:18 to seal the deal for the Gators with a hat trick and a team-high four points.
 
THE RECORDS
No. 2 Florida: 17-1, 7-0 BIG EAST
Georgetown: 6-11, 4-3 BIG EAST
 
NUMBERS OF NOTE

  • 99: career goals for junior attacker Sammi Burgess, who had a hat trick Thursday against Georgetown. Burgess has 22 consecutive games with a point dating back to 2015 and has scored a goal in 16 of the Gators’ 18 games this season
  • 97: career goals for junior Mollie Stevens, who made a return from injury against the Hoyas after last playing March 19 against Maryland. Stevens had one goal against Georgetown to bump her career tally to 97
  • 19: the Gators’ school record for wins in a season. UF is one win away from hitting 19 wins in 2016
  • 17: straight games with a goal for senior Nicole Graziano, who had three points against the Hoyas on one goal and two assists
  • 12: saves between senior goalkeeper Mary-Sean Wilcox and freshman Haley Hicklen. Wilcox had seven, her most since March 19 against Maryland, while Hicklen had five, her most since April 13 vs. Marquette
  • 7: road wins for the Gators this season, with three coming against top-10 teams in then-No. 2 North Carolina, then-No. 2 Syracuse and then-No. 10 Stony Brook. Florida defeated Georgetown, Villanova and Cincinnati in conference play on the road, plus Thursday’s tournament victory over the Hoyas
  • 3: Florida has three conference tournament championships in program history (2012 & 2014 in the ALC, 2015 in BIG EAST)
  • 2: straight BIG EAST Tournament Championship appearance for the Gators, who will look to win the tournament for a  second straight time Saturday in as many years in the league

 
O’LEARY ANALYSIS
“Credit Georgetown, they did a really great job and their goalie had some huge saves. That was definitely a momentum swing for them with her play and ability to deny some of our shots. They also capitalized on our turnovers. At the half, we made an effort to just get back to the basics. I thought we possessed the ball better and valued our possession more, but we still have a long way to go. Whichever team we face Saturday is going to come at us, and we need to be ready.”
 
UP NEXT
With Thursday’s semifinal win, the Gators will play the winner of the second (7 p.m.) semifinal between the No. 2 Seed UConn and No. 3 Seed Temple. The BIG EAST Championship Game is slated for 2:30 p.m. Saturday, May 7, from Georgetown’s Cooper Field.
 
The Gators are 4-0 all-time against Temple and 2-1 against UConn in program history.
 
Following the conclusion of the 2016 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Selection Show is slated for Sunday, May 8, at 9 p.m. on NCAA.com.

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.