Special report on the Florida Gators lacrosse team:
BALTIMORE – The No. 5 Florida Gators fell to the No. 16 Loyola Greyhounds, 15-12, in a challenging road test on Saturday at the Ridley Athletic Complex.
Shannon Kavanagh paced the offense for the Gators, scoring four goals on the day – just one off her career-best. Lindsey Ronbeck pitched in a hat trick and Grace Haus added two goals of her own.
Sabrina Cristodero won five draw controls, while Kavanagh and Ronbeck each added three wins during the game.
Sydney Pirreca led the way defensively with two caused turnovers, while four Gators each contributed one.
Haley Hicklen recorded 10 saves during the game, bringing her to 417 for her career. With her first save of the day, she took sole possession of Florida’s all-time saves record.
How It Happened
Pirreca gave the Gators the early advantage, putting Florida on the board within the first minute of game. Haus and Kavanagh then went back-to-back on the offensive end, putting the Gators up 3-1.
Loyola followed with a 4-0 run to the take the 5-3 lead with 11:42 left in the first half, but Kavanagh stopped the run on her second goal of the game. The Greyhounds then got one back, taking the 6-4 lead with 3:02 remaining in the first half.
The Greyhounds got on the board first in the second half, but Madi Hall scored an unassisted goal to cut the deficit to two at 7-5. Kavanagh then notched back-to-back goals within 35 seconds to tie the game at 7-7 and push her to four goals on the day.
With the game tied 7-7, Loyola went on a 3-0 run to take the 10-7 lead with 23:36 remaining in the second half. Ronbeck and Haus then helped the Gators storm back, combining for two goals to pull within two goals at 11-9 – but the Greyhounds added another to take the 12-9 lead with 15 minutes remaining in the game.
Down three, Ronbeck scored back-to-back free-position goals to cut the deficit to 12-11 with just over 13 minutes left in the game. Loyola then answered back with two goals of their own, taking the 14-11 lead, but Hall collected her second goal of the game to cut it to 14-12.
The Gators were unable to get any closer, while Loyola added one to its total with six seconds remaining in the game.
Records
No. 5 Florida (1-2, 0-0)
No. 16 Loyola (1-1, 0-0)
Notables
– With her first save of the night, Haley Hicklen became Florida’s all-time leader in saves – currently at 417
– Lindsey Ronbeck recorded three goals during the game, moving her closer to the 200 goal mark (169). She’s looking to become just the third Gator to score 200 goals in a career (256 – Shannon Gilroy; 203 – Kitty Cullen)
– Streaking: Hicklen has recorded a save in now 29-straight games, the fourth-best mark in program history
– Streaking: Ronbeck has recorded a goal in 14-straight games
O’Leary’s Insight
– “The better team won today. They were outstanding defensively and they have a great, balanced offensive attack. I was impressed with them and we just need to go back to the drawing board. We have plenty of games ahead of us, luckily this is a long season and we have some time to regroup.”
Up Next
– The Gators travel to Annapolis Md. to face No. 13 Navy on March 2
– Opening draw is set for 11 a.m.