Special report on the Florida Gators lacrosse team:
Six ties laced a Saturday’s gritty affair in drizzly and humid conditions in Gainesville. After a closely contested first half, the Orange and Blue led 8-7 heading into the locker room. Both the Gators (11-1, 2-0 BE) and Owls (8-3, 0-1 BE) buckled down in the second. After 15 first-half goals between the two teams, the second was limited to two scores each from UF and TU.
Florida jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on Sammi Burgess and Ronbeck scores, but Temple countered for an eventual 3-3 tie as a back-and-forth battle ensued. The Owls challenged the Gators on the defensive end, controlling time of possession and capitalizing on their offensive chances.
Out of the half-time break, senior Devon Schneider gave Florida a 9-7 advantage, but Temple gobbled up the next 13 minutes of clock generating Megan Pinkerton and Brenda McDermott goals for a 9-9 tie. Ronbeck posted the Gators’ game-winner with 4:16 remaining in the game. After one of freshman Haley Hicklen‘s two saves in the cage and the game tied 9-9, Florida called a time out to set up on the offensive end for Ronbeck’s success and the 10-9 advantage.
An untimely Gators turnover with 2:47 remaining in regulation meant persistence for a stop on the defensive end. DuPre hustled TU’s Rachel Schwaab into a turnover with just 55 seconds remaining. Freshman Madi Hall picked up the ground ball, and the Gators successfully transitioned to the offensive end and held for their second BIG EAST victory.
THE RECORDS
No. 2 Florida: 11-1, 2-0 BIG EAST
Temple: 8-3, 0-1 BIG EAST
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- 67: all-time wins for the Gators at home in Donald R. Dizney Stadium
- 16: consecutive games with a point for junior Sammi Burgess, who scored Florida’s first goal of the game Saturday
- 11: straight games with a goal for senior Nicole Graziano, who gave UF a 6-5 lead with 7:56 remaining in the first. Graziano now has 88 career goals as a Gator
- 7: different scorers for Florida against Temple: Sammi Burgess (1), Nicole Graziano (1), Lauren Lea (2), Shayna Pirreca (1), Sydney Pirreca (1), Lindsey Ronbeck (3) and Devon Schneider (1)
- 4: wins all-time for Florida against Temple. The Gators are now an undefeated 4-0 against the Owls, including a 3-0 record in Gainesville
- 3: goals on three shots for freshman Lindsey Ronbeck to tie a career high. Ronbeck last had a hat trick at Syracuse March 1
- 2: goals for senior captain Lauren Lea to tie a season-high output
- 2: caused turnovers for both Taylor Bresnahan and Nicole Graziano to lead UF in the category
“We knew Temple was going to be a great team. They are really well-coached and we knew that going in. I don’t think we responded very well. The responsibility lies at both ends of the field. Our first goal was fantastic, but defensively we had a trouble getting stops. I don’t think we competed very hard today, and Temple did. Credit to them. They came out fired up and ready to go.”
UP NEXT
Next up, the Orange and Blue hit the road to Washington, D.C., for the Gators’ first conference road clash at Georgetown April 9. The Gators will play three of their last five conference games on the road.