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Florida’s Late Surge Secures Top-10 Victory Over Loyola

via UF press release/website, by Katie Callahan, photo by Matt Pendleton

BOX SCORE

The Gators used a 5-0 run in the fourth to secure the comeback victory

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The 10th-ranked Florida lacrosse team used a fourth-quarter spurt to overcome the seventh-ranked Loyola Greyhounds 14-11 on Saturday afternoon at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.

The Gators improve to 4-2 on the year and hand Loyola its first loss of the season, moving them to 5-1.

Florida picks up its second win against a team ranked in the IWLCA/ILWomen Top-25 poll this season.

The Gators’ offensive effort was led by two three-goal performances from Emily Heller and Maggi HallPaisley EaganDanielle Pavinelli and Ava Tighe followed with two goals apiece, including Eagan’s game-tying goal. Ashley Gonzalez and Madison Waters each added one goal on the afternoon.

Gonzalez dished out a team-high three assists in the victory, followed by one apiece from Eagan and Pavinelli.

Heller led the way with the draw circle, coming up with five, while four Gators each registered one draw control on the day.

Florida held Loyola to 11-of-27 shooting on the afternoon and caused a total of 10 team turnovers. Becky Browndorf and Eagan each tallied a team-high two caused turnovers to secure the win for Florida.

Heller and Browndorf each also recorded three groundballs to lead the way for the Gators, followed by Pavinelli’s two.

Sarah Reznick was lights out in the cage, coming up with 11 saves and a .500 save percentage in the win. After the first half, she allowed just four goals in the final 30 minutes of play.

The Gators are right back in action on Tuesday when the team hosts the Colgate Raiders. Opening draw is slated for 6:30 p.m. at Donald R. Dizney Stadium and the game can also be streamed on ESPN+.

Records
No. 10 Florida (4-2)
No. 7 Loyola (5-1)

How It Happened

  • The Greyhounds found the back of the cage first, but the Gators responded with back-to-back scores from the sticks of Danielle Pavinelli and Maggi Hall with take the 2-1 advantage with 9:38 left in the frame.
  • Loyola evened the game just over a minute later, but Paisley Eagan netted her first of the day to once again give Florida the lead. With 41 seconds remaining in the first quarter, the Greyhounds responded to knot the game at 3-all.
  • The Greyhounds kicked off the second quarter with a 2-0 run, pulling ahead 5-3 with 12:37 left in the half.
  • The Gators cut the deficit to one after Ava Tighe’s third goal of the season before Loyola’s Jillian Wilson found the back of the cage with 4:37 left in the frame.
  • Emily Heller rocketed a shot into the cage to once again cut Loyola’s lead to one, but the Greyhounds scored in the final 2:30 to take the 7-5 advantage into the locker room.
  • Out of the break, Madison Waters scored on a pass from Gonzalez to pull within one at 7-6. Loyola got one back with just under 10 minutes left in the frame before Heller converted on a free-position shot to once again cut the lead to one at 8-7.
  • With 7:44 left in the third quarter, Loyola found the back of the cage, but the Gators answered with the final goal of the frame to make it 9-8 heading into the fourth.
  • The final quarter saw the two squads trading goals to start, with each team scoring twice within the first seven minutes. Florida’s goals came from the sticks of Heller and Ashley Gonzalez – both scoring on unassisted shots.
  • Following a loose-ball scrum in front of the cage, Paisley Eagan scored the game-tying goal with 6:50 left in the game.
  • Florida grabbed its first lead 5:12 remaining after Hall tallied her fourth hat trick of the year, putting the Gators up 12-11.
  • UF kept the scoring run going, with Pavinelli and Tighe each finding the back of the cage to add two insurance goals to Florida’s lead and secure the victory.

Notables

  • Maggi Hall has recorded a hat trick in four of six games this season
  • Ashley Gonzalez inched closer to becoming Florida’s 22nd 100-point scorer after her four-point performance on Saturday. She now sits at 98 career points
  • Florida earns its second win over a Top-25 opponent this season
  • The Gators improve to 7-3 in the all-time series, including a 5-1 record in Gainesville, Fla.
  • When scoring at least 14 goals, the Gators are 170-2 in program history
  • Florida owns an impressive 120-22 (.845) record in the confines of Donald R. Dizney Stadium
  • Streaking: Sarah Reznick has recorded a save in 57-straight games, a new program record
  • Streaking: Danielle Pavinelli has registered a point in 31-straight games and a goal in 29-straight games (fifth-longest streak)
  • Streaking: Emily Heller had recorded a draw control in 29-straight games, the third-longest streak in program history

Career-Highs

  • Two Gators recorded career-highs in the game:
  • Ava Tighe:
    • Tied her career-high in goals (2) and points (2)
    • Set a new career-high in shots (4) and caused turnovers (1)
  • Catherine Flaherty
    • Tied her career-high with one draw control

Insight from O’Leary

  • “Today we got to celebrate Jada and her resiliency, which is just inspiring. That inspiration put an extra fire into the team and they never gave up. Credit goes to our scout teams in practice this week – we could not get this victory today without each and every member of this team.”

Up Next

  • The Gators are right back in action on Tuesday when the team hosts the Colgate Raiders
  • Opening draw is slated for 6:30 p.m. at Donald R. Dizney Stadium

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