NCAA D1 Women – UF 13-7 over JU in 1st Round – Both Recaps
via the school press releases/websites
Pavinelli Second-Half Surge Moves UF into Sweet 16
by Chris Harry, Senior Writer, photo by Maddie Washburn
The sixth-ranked and sixth-seeded Gators, behind five second-half goals from Danielle Pavinelli, advanced to Sunday’s NCAA Round of 16.
NCAA First Round Press Conference
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Junior attacker Danielle Pavinelli scored three of her game-high five goals in the fourth quarter and led sixth-ranked and sixth-seeded Florida to a 13-7 victory over Jacksonville in Friday’s opening-round play of the NCAA Tournament at Dizney Stadium.
Pavinelli, the junior from Northport, N.Y., helped the host Gators break open a close game and in doing so became the 11th player in UF history to reach 200 points for her career and first since Brianna Harris and Shannon Kavanagh got there in 2021. Pavinelli, now with 201 career points, finished the afternoon with those five goals (on seven shots), plus an assist, but it was the overall goal of the day — advancing in the tournament — that mattered most for the Gators and Coach Amanda O’Leary.
“This team is so experienced,” said O’Leary. “They know what it takes to win. They have the fight, the grit and this is how they’ve played all season. Regy [Thorpe] and Nicole [Levy] did a great job of putting together two defensive game plans – Regy on the defensive end and Nicole on the offensive end. When you surround yourself with the best coaches and the best players, it’s a pretty special group. It was fun to be out there today.”
With the win, Florida (17-3) will take on either Notre Dame (13-5) or Mercer (17-2), who were scheduled to meet in Friday’s nightcap, in Sunday’s round of 16, with the winner of that match moving on to the NCAA quarterfinals. UF improved to 5-0 all-time in NCAA games that precede the Sweet 16.
Sophomore attacker Emma LoPinto had a pair of goals and three assists, while junior attacker Maggi Hall was good for a goal and three assists, with Hall’s goal the 96th of her career and pushing her closer to the program’s 100-goal club.
Fourth-year junior keeper Sarah Reznick, meanwhile, was terrific in goal. She faced 35 shots from the Dolphins (12-8) and finished with a program single-game record 17 saves for a .708 save percentage.
The Gators appeared to take control in the final eight minutes of the second period by scoring all four goals before the half to take a 7-2 advantage into the locker room. UF’s lead was 3-2 when it seized on a JU turnover near midfield and used the miscue to convert a breakaway. Pavinelli controlled the loose ball, threw ahead to Emily Heller, who in turn dished to LoPinto, who beat Dolphins’ keeper Addy Tysdal for the score and 4-2 advantage.
Just 92 seconds later a foul on JU defender Kaila Stasulli set up a free position attempt that Hall converted for her 43rd goal of 2023. At the 4:30 mark, LoPinto stripped defender Maddie Sturgell behind the Jacksonville goal, then circled the cage and threw past Tysdal for her second goal in three minutes and a 6-2 Florida lead. Junior Madison Waters’s free-position score with 2:57 to go gave the Gators their 7-2 cushion at intermission.
Pavinelli’s goal 7:29 into the third quarter stretched the Florida advantage to 8-2, but the Dolphins reeled off four consecutive scores — all unassisted, with two from grad attack Sarah Elms — to make things interesting (and make the home crowd a little antsy) at 8-6 with just over a minute to go in the period.
Turned out to be plenty of time for the Gators.
Actually, UF only needed a span of 13 seconds to open a four-goal advantage, with Pavinelli having a hand on a quick pair of goals. She assisted on a score by Hall with 18.9 to go, then, after the Gators controlled the ensuing draw, Emily Diaz took a pass from Pavinelli for a second quick score, this one with just 5.8 seconds left for a 10-6 lead.
Less than six minutes into the fourth period, again it was Pavinelli cutting through the 8-meter area, taking a dish from Gonzalez and beating Tysdal for a five-goal cushion with just over 14 minutes remaining. Pavinelli’s third goal of the final quarter doubled up the Dolphins, 12-6, and came with 10:35 left on an assist by Hall. Her fourth was tallied at 8:24, courtesy of a pass from LoPinto.
Records
No. 6 Florida (17-3)
RV Jacksonville (12-8)
Notables
- Sarah Reznick recorded 17 saves in the game, setting a new program record and a new career-high
- With her fifth point of the afternoon, Danielle Pavinelli eclipsed the 200-career point mark
- The Gators improve to 13-11 all-time in the NCAA Tournament
- UF is now 14-1 against Jacksonville, including a 2-0 record during the 2023 campaign
- Florida owns an impressive 126-22 (.851) record in the confines of Donald R. Dizney Stadium
- The Gators are 13-0 this season against teams not ranked in the IWLCA/ILWomen Top-25 poll and move to 148-5 (.967) in against those teams in program history
- Florida extends its win-streak to 12-straight games, dating back to the March 22 win against Mercer
- Hat Trick Counter:
- Maggi Hall is now just four goals away from hitting 100 career
- Streaking: Sarah Reznick has recorded a save in 71-straight games, a new program record
- Streaking: Maggi Hall has dished out an assist in 13-straight games, the third-longest streak in program history
Career-Highs
- Sarah Reznick set a career-high in saves (17)
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WOMEN’S LACROSSE COMPETE IN ROUND 1 OF NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
Gainesville, FL. – In a season-ending loss, Jacksonville women’s lacrosse fell 13-7 to Florida in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship Tournament.
STAT LEADERS
GOALS – Sarah Elms (2), Grace Hobson (2)
DRAW CONTROLS – Molly Brock (8)
SAVES – Addy Tysdal (8)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Molly Brock won the first possession off the draw for the Dolphins, her first of eight.
The No. 8 ranked Gators scored two goals, earning themselves a 2-0 lead. In a man-up play for Jacksonville, graduate student attacker Lauren Craft notched the Dolphins’ first goal with a cut from the 8-meter to receive a pass from junior attacker Brianna Samuels.
Graduate student midfielder Madeline Cloyd notched a shot for the Dolphins, with a cut through the 12 meter to receive a pass from senior attacker Grace Hobson and hit the back of the net to close the gap to 3-2. The Gators went on a four-goal run to pull ahead, ending the first half 7-2.
Jacksonville came out with momentum in the second half to go on a 4-3 run against Florida in the third. Samuels gained possession off a free-position rebound shot by Craft to come out from behind the goal and roll the crease to score her first goal of the game.
Graduate student attacker Sarah Elms earned a pair of free position goals. In a man-up play for the Dolphins, Elms ripped her first free position shot to find the net and achieve Jacksonville’s fourth goal, her first goal in the game. Elms, once again, found herself on the 12 meter for a free position, hitting the net to score for the Dolphins. Senior attacker Grace Hobson notched the sixth goal for the Dolphins when she rocked around the crease to rip a shot that found the back of the net. The score at the end of the third was 10-6 Gators.
Despite Jacksonville gaining momentum, Florida went on a 3-1 run in the fourth quarter. Hobson scored her second goal of the game to earn the final goal for the Dolphins.
“I am so happy we got an extra week playing the sport we love with the people we love. The end of the season is never easy, but we learned a lot about ourselves this year. this is a special group and we will be back.” said head coach Tara Singleton ” I can’t thank our seniors and grads enough. Their leadership and dedication was our north star all season. They made us better every day and their impact will be felt long after they hang up their jerseys.”
Jacksonville finished its season 12-8.
ADDITIONAL INFO
- Jacksonville had 15 draw controls to Florida’s 9.
- Jacksonville outscored Florida in the third quarter.
- Sarah Elms was 2-3 on free positions.
