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Gators Cruise Past Flames in Midweek Matchup

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via UF press release, by Katie Callahan, photo by Chase Gyles

BOX SCORE

Florida had 10 goal scorers on the afternoon

LYNCHBURG, Va. – The ninth-ranked Florida lacrosse team cruised to the 16-7 victory over the Liberty Flames on Wednesday afternoon.

Florida has now won five-straight games, moving to 10-3 overall, while Liberty drops to 7-6 in the 2023 campaign.

Emma LoPinto led the scoring effort for Florida – the eighth time she’s done so this season – scoring five goals in the game. Her second of the day was her 100th career goal, becoming Florida’s 16th 100-goal scorer and she is now tied for the fastest Gator to achieve the mark (Kitty Cullen – 35 games).

Emily Heller and Danielle Pavinelli each registered two goals in the victory, followed by one goal apiece from seven Gators: Paisley Eagan, Ashley Gonzalez, Tayler Warehime, Emerson Cabrera, Gianna Monaco, Ava Tighe, Jackie Norsworthy.

Pavinelli dished out a season-high three assists in the victory, followed by one helper from Heller, Eagan, Maggi Hall, Catherine Flaherty, Theresa Bragg and Tighe.

The Gators dominated the draw circle, coming up with 18-of-27 draws. Emily Diaz and Liz Harrison led the way with six draw controls apiece on the afternoon, followed by two from Eagan and Kaitlyn Davies.  

Florida held Liberty to 7-of-33 shooting in the game (.212) and totaled six caused turnovers.

Heller and LoPinto each tallied a team-high two groundballs, followed by one apiece from 12 Gators.

In her 37:19 between the pipes, Sarah Reznick came up with 12 saves while only allowing two goals for a .857 save percentage. That was a career-high save percentage for the redshirt junior and also tied her best for fewest goals scored.

Elyse Finnelle saw the final 22:41 in the cage, recording a career-high eight saves with a .615 save percentage.

The Gators return to The Diz on Saturday for a conference matchup against East Carolina. Opening draw is slated for 12 p.m. on ESPN+.  

Records
No. 9 Florida (10-3, 2-1 AAC)
Liberty (7-6, 3-0 ASUN)
How It Happened

  • The Gators kicked off their scoring on a fast-break opportunity where Theresa Bragg found Emma LoPinto for the score. LoPinto then followed with her second of the day just 27 seconds later, scoring her 100th career goal on a pass from Danielle Pavinelli.
  • LoPinto earned a first quarter hat trick after finding the back of the cage with 8:04 left to play, once again on a pass from Pavinelli to put the Gators up 3-0.
  • Florida took the four-goal advantage after LoPinto converted on her free-position attempt – collecting her fourth of four goals.
  • Liberty got on the board with just 2:53 remaining in the frame to cut Florida’s lead to three at 4-1.
  • Paisley Eagan found herself in the scoring column after registering her first on the day on an unassisted score to give the Gators the 5-1 lead with 1:23 left to play in the frame.
  • With just over two minutes gone in the second quarter, Ava Tighe caused a turnover prior to the Liberty clear and collected the ball to find Pavinelli in front of the cage for Florida’s sixth goal of the day.
  • Under a minute later, Maggi Hall found Emerson Cabrera for her second goal of the season, putting the Gators up 7-1 and then Florida took the seven-goal lead after Tighe cashed in on her own free-position attempt with 10:53 left in the first half.
  • The Gators took advantage of another fast-break opportunity, with Catherine Flaherty finding LoPinto for the breakaway. That was Flaherty’s first career point and LoPinto’s fifth goal of the afternoon.
  • The Gators then scored on another fast-break, with Ashley Gonzalez scoring on an empty net on a pass from Emily Heller.
  • The Flames cut Florida’s lead to eight with 7:37 left in the half after scoring on a free-position attempt, but Emily Heller’s first goal of the day was a rocket of a shot on a woman-up opportunity to put the Gators back up nine with 2:29 to play in the frame.
  • The Gators scored another woman-up goal 1:24 seconds later, when Eagan found Pavinelli in front of the cage to give Florida the running clock.
  • Five+ minutes went by in the third before either team found of the back of the cage, but Pavinelli forced a turnover by the Liberty goalie and then found Tayler Warehime for the woman-up score to put the Gators up 11.
  • The Flames cut the lead to 10 exactly midway through the third, but Heller’s second of the game once again put Florida up 11 with 3:36 left in the third frame.  
  • Liberty went on a 3-0 run in the fourth quarter, cutting Florida’s lead to eight with 3:18 left in the game, but Gianna Monaco converted on a free-position attempt to put Florida up 15-6. The Flames got one back, but Jackie Norsworthy scored her second of the year to secure the 16-7 victory for Florida.

Notables

  • Hat Trick Counter:
  • With her five goals, Emma LoPinto became Florida’s 16th 100-goal scorer
    • She is just the fourth Florida player to hit the mark during their sophomore season and she achieved the milestone in 35 games – tying Kitty Cullen for the fastest Gator to hit 100 goals  
  • Paisley Eagan posted two points on the afternoon, moving her to 93 career points
  • Emily Heller recorded three points in the game, moving her to 90 career points
  • Florida improves to 3-0 over Liberty, including a 2-0 record in Lynchburg, Va.
  • The Gators earn their eighth nonconference win this season
  • When scoring at least 14 goals, Florida is 175-2 (.989) in program history
  • The Gators improve to 3-2 on the road in the 2023 campaign
  • Streaking: Sarah Reznick has recorded a save in 64-straight games, a new program record
  • Streaking: Danielle Pavinelli has registered a point in 38-straight games and a goal in 36-straight games (third-longest streak)
  • Streaking: Emily Heller had recorded a draw control in 36-straight games, the second-longest streak in program history  

Career-Highs

Insight from O’Leary

  • “We saw a ton of bright spots from this team today. We still have some games left to play, but I am happy with what we saw today against a strong team like Liberty.”

Up Next

  • The Gators return to The Diz on Saturday for a conference matchup against East Carolina
  • Opening draw is slated for 12 p.m. on ESPN+
  • This will serve as Florida’s equality game

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