No.
2 Florida lacrosse had no answer for No. 4 Northwestern as it fell in the
American Lacrosse Conference title game, 8-3, on Sunday at Homewood Field.
Florida (17-2) will now await tonight’s selection show at 9 p.m. to learn its
place in the NCAA Tournament.
Three
different Gators scored on the afternoon and senior goalie Mikey Meagher (Liverpool,
N.Y.) stopped six shots but it wasn’t enough as Northwestern outshot UF 24-9
with the difference makers coming on draws. The Wildcats (17-2) powered over the
Gators on the draw 10-3 and won all six draws in the first half. It was a much
different contest than two weeks ago in Gainesville where Florida overwhelmed
Northwestern 22-4, as it produced its lowest scoring total of the season on
Sunday.
“I
have to give credit to Northwestern for coming in with a great game plan, and
they were the better team today,” Head coach Amanda O’Leary said. “We
knew possession was going to be a big part of this game and they just dominated
on the draws. So we go back to the drawing board to see where we need to
improve, and there is a whole postseason yet to be played.”
Northwestern
struck first on a Kelly Rich goal with a little over two minutes burned off the
clock. Senior attack Gabi Wiegand (Bay Shore, N.Y.) retaliated for
the Orange and Blue to knot things up at 1-1 on a free position 7:26 seconds
into the game.
Florida
took a 2-1 lead on a Caroline Chesterman (South Nyack, N.Y.) goal
assisted by sophomore midfielder Shannon Gilroy (Northport, N.Y.) but
that would be it for the Gators in the half as NU took a 3-2 advantage at the
break.
Back-to-back
goals out of the break put the Wildcats up 5-2 before Ashley Bruns wrapped
around the crease to make it a two-goal game with 18:52 to play. Northwestern
remained patient on the offensive end and recorded the final three goals of the
game to seal the win.
Senior
defender Sam Farrell (Millersville, Md.) stepped up for Florida on the
defensive side, recording four caused turnovers and three ground balls.
Farrell,
Meagher and senior midfielder Brittany Dashiell (Bel Air, Md.) also
earned spots on the All-Tournament team.
The
Gators will learn their postseason fate and location for the NCAA Tournament at
9 p.m. on NCAA.com as the top eight seeds will host first round action
beginning on May 10 & 12. Stay tuned to Twitter (@GatorZoneLax) and
Facebook (Facebook.com/FloridaLacrosse) for up to the minute info on the NCAA
Tournament selection show.
w.
