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UF: Gators Battle, Fall Just Short to No. 2 North Carolina

Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in , , , .

via press release by Katie Callahan

Danielle Pavinelli scores a career-high six goals to lead the way for the Gators

BOX SCORE

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The seventh-ranked Florida lacrosse team put up a valiant effort against No. 2 North Carolina on Saturday afternoon, but eventually fell 15-11 to the Tar Heels.

Sophomore Danielle Pavinelli led the way for Florida, posting a career-high six goals on the day. Emma LoPinto added two of her own, while Emerson CabreraEmily Heller and Kelly Schluederberg each tallied a goal for the Gators.

Pavinelli dished out two assists on the afternoon as well, followed by one apiece from Maggi Hall and Shelton Sawers.

Florida won 13 draw controls in the game, led by a season-best five from Heller and a career-high three from Liz Harrison.  

The Gator defense posted seven caused turnovers on the afternoon, with Becky Browndorf recording a career-high three. Pavinelli added two of her own to round out her day, while Heller and Sawers each notched one apiece.

Browndorf also led the Gators in groundballs, picking up four – tying her career-high. Catherine FlahertyMaeson Tydings and Sawers each registered two groundballs in the game.

Sarah Reznick posted a season-high seven saves in her 60:00 minutes between the pipes to go along with a groundball.

The Gators are back in action on Feb. 26, when the team travels to College Park, Md. to take on the No. 8 Maryland Terrapins. Opening draw is set for 12 p.m.

Records
No. 7 Florida (1-1)
No. 2 North Carolina (3-0)

How it Happened

  • The Gators got on the board first on an unassisted goal from Danielle Pavinelli just over a minute into the game. The defenses for each team held the other scoreless for over four minutes of play, but UNC knotted the score at 1-1 at the 9:27 mark.
  • Florida once again took the lead, this time on an unassisted score by Emily Heller to put the Gators up 2-1 with 4:09 remaining in the first quarter. The Tar Heels then strung together a four-goal run to take the 5-2 lead at the first break.
  • Emerson Cabrera kicked off the second quarter for Florida, scoring just over two minutes in to cut the deficit to two at 5-3. UNC once again pushed ahead three goals at the 11:50 mark, but the Gators went on a 3-1 run behind goals from Emma LoPinto (1) and Pavinelli (2) to pull within one at 7-6.
  • The Tar Heels would answer back, scoring two goals in the final 45 seconds of the half to take the 9-6 lead into the locker room.
  • North Carolina outscored the Gators 5-1 in the third quarter, with the lone Florida goal coming from LoPinto with 4:18 left in the frame.
  • The fourth quarter was all Florida, with the Gators outscoring the Tar Heels 4-2, but the late surge fell just short. Pavinelli got the scoring going in the fourth at the 10:05 mark, cutting North Carolina’s lead to six at 14-8. After UNC got one back with 5:29 remaining, Schluederberg and Pavinelli combined for three goals over the last 4:33 to put the final score at 15-11.

Notables

  • Florida moves to 3-11 in the all-time series against the Tar Heels

Streaking: Sarah Reznick has recorded a save in 31-straight games, the fourth-longest streak in program history  

  • Streaking: Paisley Eagan has recorded a draw control in 20-straight games, tied for the sixth-longest streak in program history  

Career-Highs

  • Danielle Pavinelli notched a career-high six goals for the Gators and also tied her career-high in assists (2). She also tied her career-high with two caused turnovers  
  • Becky Browndorf recorded a career-high three caused turnovers and tied her personal-best with four groundballs
  • Kelly Schluederberg scored the first goal of her Gator career in the game
  • Shelton Sawers tied her career-best with one assist and two groundballs
  • Liz Harrison recorded a career-high three draw controls
  • Catherine Flaherty registered a personal-best two groundballs, while Maeson Tydings tied her career-best mark with two groundballs of her own

Insight from O’Leary

  • “We played hard against a tough Top-5 opponent today. A lot of credit goes to how resilient our players showed to be after finding themselves down. It is great to face such strong competition early in the season – now we can go learn from this and get ready for Maryland next Saturday.”

Up Next

  • The Gators are back in action on Feb. 26, when the team travels to College Park, Md. to take on the eighth-ranked Maryland Terrapins at 12 p.m.

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