No.
4 seed Syracuse outscored Florida, 9-5, in the final half and made it
made the difference as they downed No. 5 seed Gator 13-9 in the NCAA
quarterfinals at the Carrier Dome Saturday afternoon. Florida wraps up its
season with a record of 18-3 and were the 2013 co-American Lacrosse Conference
regular season champions.
With
the game tied 4-4 at the break, Syracuse (18-3) outshot the Gators 17-12 in the
final period while turnovers marred their postseason bid as they gave up 13 in
the contest.
“Syracuse
is a phenomenal team and all the credit in the world to them,” Head coach
Amanda O’Leary said. “They came out and played hard and credit their offense,
but I think our defense played really hard and played their hearts out. I’m
really proud of the effort they put forth today.”
Florida
goalie Mikey Meagher (Liverpool, N.Y.) put together a solid performance
in cage with a season-high 12 saves. Three Gators scored multiple goals as
senior attack Kitty Cullen (Rockville, Md.) and sophomore midfielder Shannon
Gilroy (Northport, N.Y.) led with two goals and each had an assist.
Sophomore midfielder Nora Barry (Marcellus, N.Y.) also had two goals and
two ground balls on the afternoon.
“I
think Mikey did a phenomenal job,” O’Leary said. “She played her heart out
today and we couldn’t have asked for more from what we got from her.”
Seniors
Brittany Dashiell (Bel Air, Md.) and Kayla Stolins (Glen Arm,
Md.) each notched a team-high four draw controls as draws were an even 12-12 in
the game.
Dashiell
was also credited with an assist in the final game of the 2013 season.
It
was a classic battle between the two teams as Syracuse jumped out to a quick
2-0 lead before Cullen found Gilroy open with just under five minutes burned
off the clock in the first half.
Farrell
drew a charge on the defensive end, setting up Wiegand goal from Gilroy to tie
the game at 2-2 at the 25:20 mark. Dashiell dished to Barry with 16:44 to play
to give the Orange and Blue their first lead of the day.
But
back-to-back goals by Cross and Murray gave the Orange a 4-3 lead with 6:09 to play,
but Cullen answered on an unassisted goal with 5:39 on the clock that sent both
teams to the locker room in a 4-4 tie game.
Syracuse
scored two quick goals out of the half as Barry answered the call as she netted
an unassisted goal with 25:48 to play in the half. Cullen cut the lead back to
two with an unassisted goal with 15:24 to play but SU’s Becca Block increased
the lead to three with a quick goal a minute later. Senior Tewaaraton Award
finalist Alyssa Murray increased the lead to 10-6 with 13:45 to play.
Gilroy’s
goal with 7:38 on the clock cut the lead back down to four as both teams would
score two goals each to end the contest. Florida got its final two goals from
senior attack Ashley Bruns (Ellicott City, Md.) and sophomore attack Nicole
Graziano (Mendham, N.J.).
The
game marked the final time in a Gator uniform for 13 seniors, 11 of which
started with the program in 2010. O’Leary had nothing but praise for the
trailblazers that launched UF into a national powerhouse.
“What
will stick out to me is how these young women represented the University of
Florida and they are classy young women,” O’Leary said. “They represented us in
the best possible manner and will always hold a special place in my heart and
everyone associated with Florida lacrosse; because they put us on the map.”
