via UF press release-photo by Andy Mead

Gators Cruise Past Stetson Hatters

11 different Gators score in the 19-7 victory

BOX SCORE

DELAND, Fla. – The high-powered offensive attack of the sixth-ranked Florida lacrosse team led them past the Stetson Hatters 19-7 on Saturday afternoon.

The Gators move to 3-1 on the year, while Stetson drops to 0-2.

Florida had 11 different players score on Saturday afternoon, led by five goals from Shannon Kavanagh – a season-best mark. Ashley Gonzalez followed with a career-high three goals of her own, securing the first hat trick of her career.

Maggi Hall and Paisley Eagan tallied two goals apiece on the afternoon, while Liz Harrison, Emily Heller, Danielle Pavinelli, Grace Haus, Shelton Sawers, Janine Suris and Kaitlyn Dabkowski each pitched in one goal. Harrison and Suris both registered their first career goals in the game.

Brianna Harris posted three assists in the game, while Harrison and Pavinelli each recorded a career-best two helpers. Gonzalez, Sawers, Lexie Morton and Jill Quigley each dished out one assist in the game.

Kavanagh led the way in the draw circle, coming up with five wins on the afternoon. Eagan and Pavinelli each followed with two apiece.

As a squad, Florida recorded 11 caused turnovers, led by a career-high three from Emma Wightman. Haus and Gonzalez each tallied two on the afternoon, while four Gators registered one apiece.

Sarah Reznick led the way with four groundballs, while Haus added three of her own.

In the cage, Reznick came up with three saves and only three goals allowed for a .500 save percentage, while Julia Hammerschlag registered her first save as a Gator during her time between the pipes.

The Gators return to action on March 13 to take on in-state rival Jacksonville – Florida’s last opponent before beginning conference play. Opening draw is set for 1 p.m. at DB Milne Field.

Records

No. 6 Florida (3-1)
Stetson (0-2)

How It Happened

• The Gators struck first on a goal from Shannon Kavanagh, who scored just over two minutes into the game. Ashley Gonzalez found the back of the net just over a minute later to put Florida up 2-0 early.
• Stetson got on the board with just over 22 minutes remaining in the half, but the Gators answer with three goals over the span of two minutes to take the 5-1 lead. The first of the three goals came from the stick of Maggi Hall, followed by Kaitlyn Dabkowski’s second career goal. Gonzalez tallied her second score of the day to give Florida the four-goal lead.
• The Gators kept rolling, with Grace Haus posting her first goal to put Florida up 6-1 with 15:27 left in the half. Danielle Pavinelli also notched her first goal of the game less than 20 seconds later to put the Gators up 7-1.
• Hall and Kavanagh each registered their second goals, putting the Gators up 9-1 with 11 minutes left in the half.
• Stetson cut Florida’s lead to seven with 10:36 left in the first frame, but UF closed the half on a 3-0 run to take the 10-goal lead into the locker room. Shelton Sawers and Paisley Eagan notched their first goals of the game to kick off the run, while Gonzalez tallied her first collegiate hat trick to put Florida up 12-2 with just over 90 seconds to play in the first half.
• Kavanagh kicked off the second half with her third hat trick of the season, putting Florida up 13-2. Emily Heller followed with her first goal of the season to put the Gators up 12-goals with just under 24 minutes remaining.
• The Hatters got one back, but after Kavanagh’s fourth goal and Eagan’s second goal, the Gators were comfortably ahead 13 with just over 17 minutes remaining.
• Stetson strung together a three-goal run to pull back within 10 goals with under 10 minutes remaining, but Liz Harrison and Janine Suris each notched their first collegiate goals to secure the 19-7 victory for Florida.

Insight from O’Leary

• “Once again, I’m very proud of the overall team effort we saw out on the field today. Our offensive attack was incredibly balanced and our defense was extremely solid throughout the entire 60 minutes today.”

Notables

• Shannon Kavanagh posted her third hat trick in four games, recording five goals in the game
• Ashley Gonzalez registered the first hat trick of her Gator career, finishing with three goals on the day
• Danielle Pavinelli posted a career-high two assists against Stetson
• Shelton Sawers tied her career-high mark in goals, notching one on the afternoon
• Julia Hammerschlag saw a career-high 16:21 minutes in the cage and also recorded her first goal as a Gator
• Liz Harrison notched her first collegiate goal with just under three minutes remaining in the game
• Kelly Schluederberg registered the first caused turnover of her career in the game
• Maeson Tydings earned her first career start for the Gators on Saturday afternoon
• Grace Haus inched closer to becoming the 13th Gator to record 100 career goals after scoring one today. She currently sits at 98
• When scoring at least 14 goals, the Gators are 136-2 (.986) in program history
• Florida is 109-4 (.965) against opponents not ranked in the IWLCA Top-25 poll in program history
• Brianna Harris has recorded an assist in 13-straight game, the second-longest streak in program history (Record – 19 games, Sammi Burgess)
• Shannon Kavanagh’s 31 consecutive games with a goal is tied for the third-longest streak in program history (Record – 40 games, Shayna Pirreca).
• With five draw controls today, Kavanagh extends her streak for consecutive games with a draw control to 46 – a program record
• The Gators improve to 3-0 against the Hatters all-time, including a 2-0 record in DeLand, Fla.
• Since 2011, Florida has the third-most wins of any Division I women’s lacrosse with 161

Up Next

• The Gators remain in-state to take on the Jacksonville Dolphins on March 13
• Opening draw is set for 1 p.m. on DB Milne Field
• Florida holds the 9-0 series advantage over the Dolphins

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via Stetson press release

Hatters Hang Tough But Fall to No. 6 Gators

DeLAND—Stetson’s Marina Rotella scored three goals but No. 6 Florida proved to be too much as the Gators downed the Hatters, 19-7, Saturday at the Athletic Training Center.

Playing at home for the first time in nearly 13 months, the Hatters (0-2) put up a strong defensive effort, holding the Gators to just five goals in the game’s first 15 minutes. But eventually the Gators (3-1) found their way into the back of the net, scoring four times in five minutes to turn a 5-1 game into a 9-1 advantage.

Taylor Zuberer stopped the bleeding for Stetson with a goal at 10:36, making it a 9-2 affair, but Florida took a 12-2 lead into halftime.

Florida opened the second half by threatening to run away with the game but after two Gators’ goals, Quin Roe cut Florida’s momentum with a free-position goal to make a 14-3 gators lead.

Trailing 16-3, Rotella scored three goals in a span of six minutes, pulling the Hatter within 16-6, but Florida closed the game by scoring three of the last four goals.

Freshman Sydney Heimann made 5 saves in her first career start. Heimann and Christina Nikolai each had four ground balls to lead the defensive effort. Zuberer finished with five draw controls.

Shannon Kavanagh led the Gators with five goals. Florida’s goalie tandem of Sarah Reznick and Julia Hammerschlag combined to make four saves.

The Hatters held their own with the Gators in several statistical categories, most notably draws, where Stetson finished with a 15-13 edge. But the Hatters were just 7 for 18 on clears, while Florida was 15 for 16.

“Obviously Florida is a great team,” Stetson head coach Christy leach said. “We just wanted to make sure we were improving since the first game and that’s what we saw today. We started a lot better than we did two weeks ago. We didn’t play scared or timid. We had some strong moments on defense. But eventually when you play too much defense they’re going to keep scoring on you, so we just need to keep working on our possession and clearing the ball a little bit better.”

Stetson returns to action when the Hatters host Gardner-Webb, Noon, Friday, March 12 at the ATC.

About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University’s Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.