BOX SCORE

via Florida press release – photo by Allison Curry

Gators Down Dolphins in Final Nonconference Bout

Behind historic day from Ronbeck, Florida tops Jacksonville 19-13

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The No. 17 Gators downed Jacksonville 19-13 on the road in the final nonconference game of the season behind a historic performance from Lindsey Ronbeck.

Ronbeck paced the offense for the Gators, scoring eight goals on the night. That mark tied the single-game record for most goals scored in a game – a record she set against Maryland as well. Her seven first-half goals are the most scored in a single half in Florida program history as well.

Shannon Kavanagh and Sydney Pirreca followed with three goals and two goals, respectively.

The Gators caused six turnovers on the night, led by two from both Sabrina Cristodero and Ronbeck.

Florida also held Jacksonville to 13-of-34 shooting (.382) on the night.

Haley Hicklen posted 10 saves in the cage tonight, coming away with a .500 saves percentage in her eighth win of the season.

How it Happened

Shannon Kavanagh got the Gators on the board early, extending her scoring streak to 12 games. Jacksonville answered with the equalizer at the 24:49 mark, but Florida went on a 4-0 run to grab a 5-1 lead with 17:57 remaining in the first half.

Madi Hall got the run started after slicing through the defense to find the back of the cage. She was then followed by Kavanagh’s second goal of the day, assisted by Lindsey Ronbeck. 

Paige Aldave kept the Florida scoring streak hot, recording her first goal of the season on a free-position attempt. Ronbeck followed with a free-position goal of her own to put Florida up 5-1.

Jacksonville got back to within three goals at 5-2, but Brianna Harris answered to put the Gators back up by four at 6-2.

Ronbeck then went on a three-goal run of her own, putting Florida up 9-2 with 11:42 remaining in the first half. Two of her goals were assisted by Kavanagh and the other assist was dished out by Sydney Pirreca. 

Caroline Benitez posted her first goal of the game on an assist from Maggie Corbo with 9:51 remaining in the first half.

Over the course of the next nine minutes, Ronbeck strung together three more goals and Pirreca added an addition as well to put Florida ahead 14-2. Jacksonville got one back before the half, but the Gators took a 14-3 lead into the locker room.

The seven first-half goals for Ronbeck is a program record for the Gators. No Florida player had scored more than six goals in a half previously.

Florida was held scoreless for a portion in the second half, with Jacksonville bringing it to a 15-7 game at the 9:24 mark. Ronbeck ended that scoreless stretch with her eighth goal of the game, one that came from the Gators being two players down due to penalties. With that goal, she tied the program record for the most goals in a game, a mark she set last season.

Jacksonville scored the next two goals to pull within seven at the five minute mark, but Kavanagh picked up her 10th hat trick of the season to extend Florida’s lead back to eight with just over four minutes to go.

Maddie McMaster and Pirreca both added goals over the final two minutes to help Florida secure the victory in its final nonconference game.

Records
No. 17 Florida (8-6, 2-0 AAC)
Jacksonville (10-3, 3-0, ASUN)

O’Leary’s Insight

• “We got off to a great start in the first half and our offense was moving the ball well. Our second half wasn’t as strong as we would have liked. We have some things to work on before we get back into conference play on Saturday.”

Notables

• Lindsey Ronbeck tied Florida’s all-time program record with eight goals during the game, a mark she has set twice already in her career
  • The eight goals also marked a single-game conference high as well
• Haley Hicklen posted a career-best two caused turnovers
• Shannon Kavanagh recorded her 10th hat trick this season and seventh in a row
• Maggie Corbo recorded a career-best two assists against the Dolphins
• Sydney Pirreca moved closer to 200 career points, scoring three against Jacksonville
  • That put her at 182 for her career and she is on pace to become just the seventh Gator to reach the milestone
• Ronbeck moved closer to Florida’s all-time goals record after hitting eight against the Dolphins. She currently sits at 212 and Shannon Gilroy holds the record at 256
• Shannon Kavanagh recorded three goals on the night, bringing her to 80 for her career
  • She is on pace for 100 goals this season, becoming just the 12th Florida player to hit that mark. If she records 100 goals this year, she will be just the second Gator to hit the milestone by the end of a sophomore season
• The Gators finished out their nonconference schedule with a win, moving to 6-6 in those games this season
• Florida moves to 8-0 against Jacksonville all-time
• Streaking: Haley Hicklen has recorded a save in 40-straight games, the second-best mark in program history.
• Streaking: Lindsey Ronbeck has also scored at least one goal in 25-straight games, the third-best mark in program history
• Streaking: Sabrina Cristodero is now in sole possession Florida’s streak for consecutive games with a draw control, recording one in 28-straight games. Shannon Kavanagh is just one behind, recording a draw control in 27-straight games

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via JU press release

Milller Posts 100th Career Goal Vs. #17 Florida

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Senior captain Lillie Miller recorded her 100th career goal as the Jacksonville University women’s lacrosse team outpaced No. 17 Florida in the second half, but the Dolphins were unable to rally back from a first half deficit as the Gators left Duval with a 19-13 decision, Thursday evening at D.B. Milne Field.

Miller posted three goals – exactly how many she needed to reach her 100th – to lead the Dolphins’ offensive effort.

“We gave up too many runs in the first half and didn’t possess the ball on attack. It was good to see our fight in the second half. Credit to UF for a great day on attack especially [Lindsey Robeck]. Proud of our draw effort throughout the entire game,” remarked Head coach Mindy McCord following the game.

“We started the game well, but Florida played their best lacrosse of the year after a timeout in the first half. They were really good tonight. We did not play our best game. In fact, we found some things that need to be fixed ASAP for the remainder of the season and we will get to work on those things tomorrow,” added Associate Head coach Paul McCord.

“I’m proud of our fight. We battled in the second half well. We had eight good minutes to start the game and a good second half. Florida was red hot for the end of the first and the hole was too big to dig our way out of. We had some great chances in the first half and we needed to capitalize on them. We had four costly turnovers in the first half that led to a four goal swing.”

Facing a 15-3 deficit at halftime, the Dolphins sparked a 4-0 run out of the break to come back within eight; Jacksonville’s defense held the Gators scoreless for 23:30 in the second half during that run. In the final 5:40, the Dolphins doubled up Florida, 6-3, behind six different goal scorers: freshman Molly Brock (5:40) and sophomore Alyssa Arnold (5:06) posted back-to-back free-position goals, followed by tallies from sophomore Emma Wisdom (3:15) and graduate student Hayley Ciklin (2:50) just 25 seconds apart.

Closing out Jacksonville’s scoring were senior captain Jody Julmice (1:10) and redshirt-junior Erin McGuire (0:41) to bring JU within five, 18-13.

The Dolphins held the advantage on shots (34-30) and draw controls (19-14), and recorded 15 less fouls and one less turnover than the Gators.

Adding a pair of goals for Jacksonville were McGuire and Arnold, while sophomore Megan Prescott posted a team-high six draw controls.

Freshman goalie Dayna Martinetto recorded four of the Dolphins’ seven caused turnovers, along with all four of the Dolphins’ saves. Redshirt-freshman Sharn Muffett also saw time in the cage.

Lindsey Ronbeck led the Gators with nine points (8 goals, 1 assist), while Haley Hicklen posted 10 saves.

The Dolphins return to action on Sunday, April 14 when the welcome ASUN newcomer Liberty at 1 p.m.