The fourth-seeded Florida lacrosse team embarks on their first journey into the NCAA Tournament by hosting the Stanford Cardinal at Dizney Stadium on Saturday, May 14th. The 1:00p.m. matchup between the Gators and the Cardinal marks the first-ever NCAA Tournament game played in the state of Florida.
Florida enters the NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed and is ranked fourth nationally as well. Stanford is unseeded in this year’s NCAA Tournament and is ranked No. 7 by the IWLCA. Both teams are recipients of multiple conference awards, as both teams were honored with their respective conference’s Coach and Player of the Year honorees. For Florida, head coach Amanda O’Leary was named the American Lacrosse Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Gators to an undefeated ALC regular season and a No. 2 national ranking, while mentoring sophomore attacker Kitty Cullen (Rockville, Md.) to ALC Player of the Year accolades, as well as a Tewaaraton nomination as just a sophomore.
Seven Gators were bestowed with postseason awards, as sophomore attacker Ashley Bruns (Ellicott City, Md.), Cullen and sophomore defender Sam Farrell (Millersville, Md.) were named to the ALC First Team. Sophomore midfielder Janine Hillier (Farmingdale, N.Y.), sophomore defender Haydon Judge (Chestertown, Md.) and sophomore goalkeeper Mikey Meagher (Liverpool, N.Y.) were named to the ALC Second Team. Sophomore defender Emily Dohony (Parkton, Md.), Farrell and Hillier were also named to the ALC All-Tournament Team.
Cullen is second in the NCAA in goals per game (3.94), while ranking second in goals overall (71) and seventh in points overall (79). Meagher is seventh in the nation in goals-against average (8.28) while Bruns is 15th in points overall (70) and 26th in assists overall (25) and 27th in points per game (3.89).
Stanford head coach Amy Bokker received the 2011 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Coach of the Year while leading Stanford to an undefeated MPSF regular season and the 2011 MPSF Tournament title. Bokker has been named the MPSF Coach of the Year for every year she has been at the helm of the Cardinal program. Stanford senior Leslie Foard was named the MPSF Player of the Year while leading the Cardinal with 60 points on the season (41 G, 19 A).
Saturday’s game pits the No. 2 offense in the country (Stanford: 16.11 goals scored per game) against the No. 10 defense in the country (Florida: 8.61 goals allowed per game). As a team, Stanford ranks in the top-25 in every statistical category available. Florida is ranked seventh in the nation in win percentage (.833), ninth in scoring margin (5.11) and 10th in scoring defense (8.61).
