Special report on the Florida Gators lacrosse team:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 5 Florida lacrosse team topped the High Point Panthers in an offense-powered 17-10 win on Saturday afternoon in front of a great crowd at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
Brianna Harris led the offensive charge with five goals, tying her career-best mark. Shannon Kavanagh added four, while Emily Heller posted a career-high three goals on the afternoon.
Emerson Cabrera added two goals, while Shelton Sawers, Maggie Corbo and Kassidy Bresnahan each recorded a goal in the game.
Harris dished out three assists for a career-high eight total points on the day, while Grace Haus added three helpers of her own in the win. Corbo, Kavanagh and Sarah Mackey each posted an assist on the afternoon as well.
Florida dominated the draw circle, coming up with 21-of-29 draws in the game. Kavanagh led the way with 13 draw controls, tying both her career-high mark and the second-highest total in program history. Kaitlyn Dabkowski registered four draw controls, while Heller added two.
Defensively, the Gators caused 10 turnovers and held the Panthers to a .307 clip (10-of-27 shooting).
Cara Trombetta and Emily Petillo each recorded three caused turnovers in the game, while Heller, Haus, Kavanagh, Sarah Reznick and Jill Quigley all registered one.
In the cage, Sarah Reznick recorded eight saves for a .444 clip, while Kenzii Kittell added a save of her own in the game.
Florida jumps right back into action on Tuesday against No. 17 Navy. The Gators and the Midshipmen will face off at 12 p.m. at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
How It Happened
* High Point got on the board first, scoring just over four minutes into the first period, but Brianna Harris notched the equalizer less than a minute later to tie it up 1-1. The Panthers went on a 2-0 run to go up 3-1 before Shelton Sawers scored her first goal of the game with 15 minutes left in the half (3-2).
* HPU once again took a two-goal lead, scoring with 14:49 remaining in the half, but the Gators went on a 6-0 run to take the 8-4 lead with 5:14 left in the first half. Harris, Shannon Kavanagh and Emily Heller each scored two goals during the run.
* The Panthers got one back with 1:35 left in the half, but Florida was still able to take the three-goal lead into the locker room (8-5).
* Coming out of the break, the Panthers got on the board first, but the Gators answered with four-straight goals, coming from Kassidy Bresnahan, Harris, Heller and Emerson Cabrera. That gave UF the 12-6 lead with 19:15 left in the game. High Point cut Florida’s lead to five at 12-7, but Kavanagh notched back-to-back goals to put the Gators up seven with just under 16 minutes left to play.
* Florida continued to roll on its 4-0 run, with Maggie Corbo and Harris both registering a goal. High Point closed the game on a 3-1 run of its own, with the final Gator goal coming from Cabrera with just over five minutes remaining.
Records
No. 5 Florida (5-2)
High Point (1-4)
O’Leary’s Insight
On the slow start
* “We came out of the locker room a little slow, but credit High Point, they did a great job. They came in and pressured us. We knew they were going to do it, but it’s very hard to replicate that pressure. We adapted well in the second half, but in the first half, it really put us on our heels. Something we need to work on is handling that pressure.”
On success in the draw circle
* “Shannon, Kaitlyn and Emily did a great job on the draw circle today. We had 21 draw controls, which is a huge number. When you start with the ball, it makes all the difference in the world.”
Notables
* Emily Heller posted a career-high three goals on the afternoon, topping her previous career-best of two against Colorado (2/8/20)
* Sarah Mackey recorded the first point of her career with an assist
* Emily Petillo tied her career-high mark in caused turnovers, posting three on the afternoon
* Shannon Kavanagh has now recorded a hat trick or better in six of the seven games Florida has played
* The Gators move to 4-0 against High Point in the all-time series
* Florida moves to 106-4 (.964) against unranked opponents in the 11-year history of the program
* When scoring at least 14 goals, the Gators are 132-2 (.985) in the 11-year history of the program
* Florida owns an impressive 95-19 (.833) record in the confines of Donald R. Dizney Stadium
* Shannon Kavanagh is inching closer to 200 career points, currently sitting at 192. She would be the ninth Gator to reach that mark
* Grace Haus is creeping closer to becoming just the 13th Florida player to record 100 career goals, sitting at (90)
* Streaking: Kavanagh currently holds the record for most consecutive games with a draw control (41)
* Streaking: Kavanagh’s 26 consecutive games with a goal is the fourth-longest streak in program history (Record – 40 games, Shayna Pirreca)
Up Next
* The Gators are right back in action against No. 17 Navy on Tuesday
* Opening draw is set for 12 p.m. at Donald R. Dizney Stadium
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