via UF press release – photo by Ellie Richardson

Coach Amanda O’Leary earned her 350th career victory

BOX SCORE

LYNCHBURG, Va. – The No. 12 Florida lacrosse team was victorious over Liberty on Wednesday afternoon, defeating the Flames 14-6 at Liberty Lacrosse Field.

The victory was Coach Amanda O’Leary‘s 350th career win, making her just the ninth coach to hit that mark across all divisions and she is now just the fourth Division I head coach to hit the mark.

Emma LoPinto led the way offensively for Florida, posting four goals of the afternoon for her third hat trick of the season. Danielle Pavinelli and Maggi Hall each added three goals of their own in the victory – Pavinelli has now notched a hat trick in each of the five games this season.

Ashley Gonzalez added two goals in the game, while Josie Hahn and Sarah Mackey each found the back of the cage once.

LoPinto dished out five helpers on the afternoon, setting a new program high for a freshman in a single game. Pavinelli and Gonzalez each registered two assists in the victory, while Emily Heller added one.

Florida won 13-of-24 draw controls, led by five from Liz Harrison.

The Gator defense held the Flames to a .250 shooting percentage on the afternoon and caused 16 turnovers in total. Shelton Sawers recorded a career-high four caused turnovers to lead the way, followed by three from Becky Browndorf and two apiece from Hall and Pavinelli.

Browndorf registered a team-high three groundballs in the game, while Leigh Lingo and Sarah Reznick each picked up two.

In the cage, Reznick recorded 10 saves for a .667 save percentage during her 55 minutes of play. Julia Hammerschlag posted one save and one goal allowed during her time between the posts.

The Gators are back in action on Saturday against No. 9 Loyola. Opening draw is set for 12 p.m. in Baltimore, Md.

Records
No. 12 Florida (2-3)
Liberty (3-3)

How it Happened

• The Flames got on the board first just under three minutes into the game, but Danielle Pavinelli knotted it at 1-1 on a behind-the-back goal on a pass from Emma LoPinto just two minutes later.
• Josie Hahn netted the first goal of her collegiate career with 8:30 remaining in the first quarter on an assist from Emily Heller and LoPinto followed with her first goal of the day just over 90 seconds later to give Florida the 3-1 lead.
• Liberty got one back at the 5:28 mark, but the Gators scored back-to-back goals from the sticks of LoPinto and Ashley Gonzalez to take the 5-2 lead with 2:45 left in the half.
• LoPinto tallied her third goal of the game just over a minute into the second quarter, giving her her third hat trick this season. Liberty was able to cut the deficit to three at 6-3 with 11:09 left in the half, but then both teams were scoreless over the next seven minutes and change.
• To end the scoreless drought and in traffic, LoPinto scored on a pass from Pavinelli to take the 7-3 lead with 3:42 left in the half and Gonzalez followed with a free position conversion to take the 8-3 lead with 40 seconds left. The Flames were able to get one back before the buzzer sounded, cutting the deficit to four heading into the locker room.
• For the first 7:36 of the third quarter, both teams were held scoreless, but Pavinelli broke through with her second goal of the day to put Florida up 9-4.
• Maggi Hall kept the Florida scoring going, converting on a pass from LoPinto to give the Gators the six-goal lead with 5:25 left in the third quarter. Less than two minutes later, Hall found the back of the cage again, this time on a free-position attempt to put Florida up 11-4.
• Hall tallied her third-straight goal just over three minutes into the final frame and Pavinelli followed with her third goal of the day to give the Gators the 13-4 advantage with 11:31 left in the game.
• Liberty was able to get one back with just over eight minutes remaining, but Sarah Mackey put the lead back to nine after scoring the first goal of her collegiate career with 4:43 left to play. The Flames netted one last goal with 44 seconds remaining, but Florida clinched the 14-6 win.

Notables

• The Gators improve to 2-0 in the all-time series against the Flames
• Coach O’Leary earned her 350th career victory on Wednesday afternoon
  • She became just the ninth coach to hit that mark across all Divisions in the NCAA and is now just fourth Division I coach to reach 350 career wins
• Danielle Pavinelli has now recorded a hat trick in each game this season
• Emma LoPinto has now recorded a hat trick in three of five games during the 2022 campaign  
• Florida is now 123-5 (.961) against opponents not ranked in the IWLCA Top-25 poll
• When scoring at least 14 goals, the Gators are 153-2 (.987) in program history
• Since 2011, Florida has the third-most wins (178) of any Division I women’s lacrosse team
• Sarah Reznick has recorded a save in 34-straight games, the third-longest streak in program history  

Career-Highs

• Emma LoPinto finished with nine points in the game, setting a new career-high. She also recorded a career-best five assists on the afternoon
  • That is just one point off the program record by a freshman  
  • The five assists are a program record by a freshman in a single game and puts her at the second overall
• Shelton Sawers notched a career-high four caused turnovers in the game
• Maggi Hall tied her career-high with three goals on the afternoon
• In her first career start, Kelly Schluederberg registered a career-high two draw controls
• Josie Hahn and Sarah Mackey each recorded the first goal of their career
• Brie Catts registered the first caused turnover of her career and Macy Zaban recorded the first groundball of her career
• Catherine Moriarty tied her career-best with one groundball
• Celeste Forte and Charlotte Harmon each tied their career-high with one draw control
• Alexa Waters registered the first caused turnover of her career and tied her career-high with one groundball

Insight from O’Leary

• “Really proud of our effort this afternoon. We saw a lot of bright spots on both the offensive and defensive ends of the ball. This was a good win to get us back on track and we look forward to continue to build on the things were learned today.”

Up Next

• The Gators are back in action on Saturday, traveling to Baltimore, Md. to take on the No. 9 Loyola Greyhounds
• Opening draw is set for 12 p.m. on ESPN+

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