Special report on the Florida Gators lacrosse team:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The 10th-ranked Florida lacrosse team dominated the East Carolina Pirates on Thursday afternoon, winning 20-9 to secure its 100th victory at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
The Gators move to 8-2 on the year and remain undefeated in conference play with a 5-0 record, while the Pirates drop to 3-8 overall and 1-4 in league play.
Florida was led offensively by Brianna Harris, who tied her career-high in goals with five on the afternoon. Shannon Kavanagh and Danielle Pavinelli each registered a hat trick, finding the back of the net three times apiece.
Grace Haus, Paisley Eagan and Ashley Gonzalez each tallied two goals on the afternoon, while Kassidy Bresnahan, Kaitlyn Dabkowski and Kaala Puglisi all recorded one goal in the game.
Eagan, Kavanagh and Harris all dished out two assists against the Pirates, with Eagan’s being a career-high for the redshirt sophomore.
The Gators dominated in the draw circle, winning 23-of-31 draws. Kavanagh notched six draw controls, Harris added five, while Heller rounded out the leaders with four of her own.
As a squad, Florida recorded eight caused turnovers and held the Pirates to just nine goals on the day. Emma Wightman and Dabkowski each registered two caused turnovers in the win to lead the Gators.
Six UF players tallied two groundballs in the win: Pavinelli, Bresnahan, Wightman, Dabkowski, Cara Trombetta and Sarah Reznick.
In the cage, Reznick recorded five saves with a .454 clip during her 47:30 between the pipes.
The Gators are right back in action against the Pirates on Saturday. Opening draw is set for 11 a.m. at The Diz.
Records
No. 10 Florida (8-2, 5-0 AAC)
East Carolina (3-8, 1-4 AAC)
How it Happened
- The Gators got on the board first, with Kassidy Bresnahan finding the back of the net on a pass from Shannon Kavanagh just under a minute into the game.
- ECU answered to knot the game at 1-1, but Kavanagh tallied her first goal of the day to give Florida the 2-1 advantage with 25:09 left in the first half.
- The Pirates responded to once again tie the game, but back-to-back goals from Brianna Harris gave Florida the 4-2 lead with just over 21 minutes remaining in the frame. ECU went on a 2-0 spurt over the course of the next five minutes to tie the game at 4-4.
- With the game knotted at 4-all, the Gators exploded for a 5-0 run – consisting of all man-up goals. Kavanagh kicked off the run, followed by goals from Paisley Eagan and Ashley Gonzalez. Kavanagh and Haus rounded out the stretch, putting Florida up 9-4 with 10:34 left in the half.
- East Carolina got one back to cut Florida’s lead to four with just over eight minutes remaining in the first, but Harris once again scored back-to-back goals and Danielle Pavinelli added one of her own to put the Gators up 12-5 going into halftime.
- Out of the locker room, Florida continued to roll, going on a 4-0 run behind the sticks of Eagan, Kaitlyn Dabkowski, Pavinelli and Haus to put UF up 16-5 with 25:09 left in the game.
- The Pirates pulled to within 10 at 16-6, but Florida once again went on a 4-0 run to take complete control of the momentum. During that stretch, four different Gators scored: Harris, Gonzalez, Pavinelli and Kaala Puglisi, putting Florida up 20-6 with 8:28 left. ECU scored the final three goals of the game, but the Gators would hold on to win 20-9 and move to 5-0 in AAC play.
Insight from O’Leary
On the biggest improvement from the first half to the second half
- “We came right out off of the draw controls and executed well from there. Our defense picked it up as well and played a more shut-down defense throughout the second half. Offensively, we took better advantage of our opportunities and finished plays.”
Notables
- Eagan recorded a career-high two assists in the game
- Harris tied her career-best, scoring five goals on the afternoon
- Florida has now clinched its 100th win at The Diz, holding a 100-19 records in the confines of the stadium (.840)
- The Gators improve to 2-0 in the all-time series against East Carolina, with both wins coming at home
- Florida is now 112-5 against teams not ranked in the IWLCA Top-25 poll (.957)
- When scoring at least 14 goals, the Gators are 141-2 (.986) in program history
- Since 2011, Florida has had the third-most wins of any Division I women’s lacrosse program with 166
- Streaking: With her three goals today, Shannon Kavanagh has now recorded a goal in 37-straight games, the second-longest streak in program history. She is just three games away from tying Shayna Pirreca’s record of 40-straight games for the longest streak in program history
- Streaking: Kavanagh has now recorded a point in 37-straight games, the fifth-longest streak in program history
- Streaking: Sarah Reznick has tallied a groundball in 14-straight games, tied for the fourth-longest streak in program history
- Streaking: Brianna Harris has recorded a point in 30-straight games, the seventh-longest streak in program history
Up Next
- The Gators are right back in action on Saturday to close out the series with the Pirates
- Opening draw is set for 11 a.m. at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
No. 10 Florida vs. ECU Broadcast Information – April 3
Time & Date: Saturday, April 3 | 11 a.m.