via UF press release, by Katie Callahan – photo by Leslie White

Maggi Hall had a career six-goal performance in the game

BOX SCORE­

PHILADELPHIA – The No. 13 Florida lacrosse team (4-4) held off Drexel’s (4-4) late surge on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Dragons 10-9 in the final minute of play on Sunday afternoon at Vidas Field.

After holding an 8-1 lead coming out of the half, Drexel battled all the way back to take the 9-8 advantage over the Gators with 5:21 left in the game. Florida did not bow out though, scoring two goals in the final minute to secure the victory.

Florida’s offensive attack was led by a career-performance from Maggi Hall. The sophomore attacker registered six goals in the game, including the game-tying goal with 1:00 left to play. Danielle Pavinelli netted two goals of her own in the victory, with her second serving as the game-winner with just 18 seconds left.

Paisley Eagan and Emily Heller round out the scorers for Florida, each notching one goal in the game.

Emma LoPinto dished out a team-high three assists on the afternoon, followed by two helpers from Ashley Gonzalez. Maggi Hall and Shelton Sawers each added one assist of their own in the win.

Heller posted three draw controls on the afternoon to lead the way for the Gators, while Sawers and Liz Harrison collected two apiece.

Florida’s defense held Drexel to a .346 shooting percentage in the game on 9-of-26 shooting. UF caused nine turnovers in the victory, led by two apiece from Leigh Lingo and Emma Wightman. Four Gators each registered one: Hall, Catherine Moriarty, Sawers and Sarah Reznick, as well as one team CT.

Moriarty recorded a career-high four groundballs on the afternoon to lead the team, followed by two apiece from Lingo, Catherine Flaherty, Maeson Tydings and Eagan.

During her 60 minutes between the pipes, Reznick recorded eight saves for a .471 save percentage.

The Gators are back in action on Wednesday when the Stetson Hatters come to town. Opening draw is set for 4:30 p.m. at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.

Records
No. 13 Florida (4-4, 0-0 AAC)
Drexel (4-4, 0-0 CAA)

How it Happened

• Florida struck first in the game after Danielle Pavinelli converted on a free-position attempt with just over five minutes played. 55 seconds later, Maggi Hall netted her first goal of the day on a pass from Emma LoPinto, putting Florida up 2-0.
• Hall’s second goal of the day and 11th of the season gave the Gators the 3-0 advantage with 4:17 remaining in the first quarter, forcing a Drexel timeout. Coming out of the break, Hall registered her second-consecutive game with a hat trick after finding the back of the cage.
• Hall could not be stopped in the first quarter, once again finding the goal on a pass from LoPinto to set a new career-high in goal scored and put Florida up 5-0 with 1:29 left in the frame.
• Emily Heller got in the scoring column with nine seconds remaining in the first, scoring on an unassisted drive.
• The Gator defense held the Dragons scoreless for the entirety of the first quarter and did not allow a goal until 20:10 into the game on a free-position woman-up opportunity.
• Hall netted her fifth goal of the day on a dish from Ashely Gonzalez to put Florida’s first goal of the second quarter on the board at the 3:04 mark. Paisley Eagan followed with her first goal of the day – another assisted goal from Gonzalez – just over a minute later to put Florida up 8-1 with 2:00 to go in the half. That was the last score for either team in second quarter.
• Coming out of the halftime break, Drexel strung together a 4-0 run over the course of nine minutes of game action to cut Florida’s lead to just three at 8-5. The Gators were held scoreless over the 15-minute quarter, but UF also held the Dragons scoreless for the final six minutes of the frame.
• To open up the fourth quarter, Drexel scored back-to-back goals in the first two minutes of the frame to cut Florida’s lead to one at 8-7.
• With 6:53 remaining in the game, the Dragons tied the game at 8-8 and then converted on a free-position goal with just over five minutes remaining to take their first lead of the game.
• With exactly one minute left to play, Hall tallied her sixth – and probably most important – goal of the day to knot the game at 9-9. The game-winner came from the stick of Pavinelli from Hall with 18 seconds remaining to secure the victory for Florida.

Notables

• Maggi Hall has now recorded a hat trick in back-to-back games. It brings her total to three this season
• Pavinelli is on pace to become Florida’s 19th 100-point scorer – she currently sits at 74
• Florida improves to 1-0 against Drexel in the all-time series
• The Gators improve to 3-0 against unranked opponents during the 2022 campaign
• Streaking: Sarah Reznick has recorded a save in 37-straight games, the third-longest streak in program history  
• When scoring first, the Gators are 3-1 against opponents during the 2022 season  

Career-Highs

• Maggi Hall recorded a career-high six goals and a career-best seven points in the game
• Catherine Moriarty registered a career-high four groundballs
• Catherine Flaherty tied her career-best with two groundballs
• Sarah Reznick tied her career-high with one caused turnover

Insight from O’Leary

• “We came out with a lot of energy in the first half and saw some great play on both the offensive and defensive sides of the field. After the half, we let things get away from us on both sides, but I am proud of this team for showing the resilience to come back in the final minute of play and get a road victory.”

Up Next

• The Gators return to Donald R. Dizney Stadium on Wednesday to face off against Stetson
• Opening draw is set for 4:30 p.m. and the game will air on YouTube

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