The
second-ranked Gator lacrosse team scored 15 unanswered goals en route to their
10th victory of the season with a 18-2 win over Lehigh Tuesday evening
at Donald R. Dizney Stadium. The win marked the second-lowest opponent total,
second-lowest opponent saves and tied for most opponent turnovers in program
history.
Rattling
off 15 unanswered goals, the Gators (10-0) used a 14-0 advantage at halftime to
cruise comfortably to a win over the Mountain Hawks (2-4). The Orange and Blue
not only marked their highest-point scoring effort of the season, they also contributed
a season-high eight assists in the contest. Senior attack Caroline
Chesterman (South Nyack, N.Y.) recorded a team-high two assists in the win.
“I’m
just really proud of the team because this was a total team effort,” Head coach
Amanda O’Leary said. “Defensively we played very well and I thought
Mary-Sean (Wilcox) came in the second half and held solid in the goal cage very
well and our defensive as a whole did an outstanding job.”
Five
Gators scored three points each as sophomore midfielder Nora Barry (Marcellus,
N.Y.) led the team with three goals. Senior attack Gabi Wiegand (Bay
Shore, N.Y.), sophomore midfielder Nicole Graziano (Mendham, N.J.) both
scored a goal and dished out two assists while freshman attack Lauren Lea (Elkridge,
Md.) and senior attack Erin Graziano (Mendham, N.J.) each scored a
season-high two goals and one assist.
In
all, 12 Gators scored on the evening and a slew of new faces saw significant
playing time with four freshman - Angela Flister (Eldersburg, Md), Devon
Schneider (Lititz, Pa.) , Beth Willertz (Severn, Md.) and Carly
Ross (Freeland, Md.) - scoring their first career goals in the win.
“It
was fun to see new faces out there and our freshman competed really hard,” O’Leary
said. “It’s huge to get them in because they’re the future, and we’ve been able
to see them play quite a bit and tonight they were really dominant.”
Wiegand
got things started for the Orange and Blue less than three minutes into the
contest on a Shannon Gilroy (Northport, N.Y.) assist. UF went on to
score their next six goals in four minutes and 20 seconds, building a 7-0 lead.
UF
shined on the defensive end as well, forcing a program-high 20 turnovers in the
effort and also recording 10 caused turnovers. Freshman midfielder Sam
Darcangelo (Freeland, Md.) led the Gators with four ground balls, three
draw controls and three caused turnovers. Sophomore defender Mikki Offit (Bethesda,
Md.) and senior defender Kayla Stolins (Glen Arm, Md.) each recorded two
caused turnovers.
Lehigh
scored their lone goals of the night in the second half, with goals from Carli
Sukonik at the 25 minute mark and Megan Paytas with 12:10 left to play in the
game. Freshman scored three of the four goals in the second half for the
Gators.
Erin
Graziano opened the second half with her career-high second goal while
Willertz, Schneider and Flister all scored to cushion the Gators lead in the
final period.
Florida
also controlled the draw winning 13-9 and ground balls 25-13. Freshman
defender Kelsey Hart (North Babylon, N.Y.), Gilroy and Stolins all
chipped in two draw controls while Mary-Sean Wilcox (Lutherville, Md.)
and freshman attack Darcy Messina (Sayville, N.Y.) each grabbed three
ground balls. Goalies senior Mikey Meagher (Liverpool, N.Y.) and Wilcox
combined for four saves on six shots on goal.
