
#2 Gators Win Second Straight Big East Lacrosse Title, Top UConn 13-8
Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in Uncategorized.
via press release
GAME HIGHLIGHT VIDEO
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – For a sixth consecutive season, the University of Florida women’s lacrosse program captured a regular season conference championship, securing its second straight BIG EAST Conference crown with Sunday’s (April 24) 13-8 victory over UConn at Donald R. Dizney Lacrosse Stadium.
By winning the league’s regular season title, Florida wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament, and will open postseason play in Thursday’s (May 5) first semifinal in Washington, D.C.
The win also capped a perfect 7-0 season for the Gators in BIG EAST play, marking the fourth time in program history they’ve finished a conference slate undefeated. Florida finishes the regular season 16-1 overall, including a 10-1 mark at home. A win in the club’s first BIG EAST Tournament match would tie the 2013 team for the best 18-game start in program history.
As far as the game itself, a close 6-4 affair at halftime turned into a UF rout in the closing 30 minutes. The Gators scored seven consecutive goals in the second frame, with the final tally coming from Devon Schneider at the 2:14 mark. UConn’s other four goals all came in the final 1:51 of regulation.
Junior Sammi Burgess, redshirt senior Nicole Graziano, and freshman Lindsey Rondbeck led the Gators with three goals apiece. Burgess added two assists and posted a game-high five points.
Graziano’s third goal, which came at the 5:12 mark of the second half, marked the 100th of her career and made her the sixth Gator in school history to hit that mark.
Prior to the game, Florida honored its senior class, which boasts a 67-13 record (.838), and have won a conference title and competed in the NCAA Tournament every year of their careers.
THE RECORDS
No. 2 Florida: 16-1, 7-0 BIG EAST
UConn: 12-3, 6-1 BIG EAST
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- 100: career goals for redshirt senior Nicole Graziano, who became just the sixth player in UF history to hit the century mark
- 69: all-time home wins for the No. 2 Gators with Sunday’s victory over UConn. Florida improved to 69-9 all-time at The Diz
- 21: consecutive games with a point for junior Sammi Burgess, who had a hat trick for a second consecutive games. Burgess has scored a goal in 15 of Florida’s 17 games this season
- 16: straight games with a goal for senior Nicole Graziano. Since March 6, Graziano has led UF in scoring with 29 goals and 37 points through the stretch
- 7: straight wins for Florida since falling to Maryland on March 19. The Gators have put together the program’s fourth undefeated conference season in program history (2011, 2012, 2014, 2016) and their first in BIG EAST play
- 6: Florida’s sixth regular season conference title in the program’s seven-year history, as it won four consecutive ALC titles from 2011-14 and back-to-back BIG EAST crowns in 2015 and 2016
- This is the first outright BIG EAST regulars season title for the Gators, as it shared the championship with Georgetown last season
- 5: conference titles for the Florida athletics program through the 2015-16 academic year (soccer, men’s swimming & diving, gymnastics, women’s tennis & lacrosse)
- 4: Florida became the fourth team in BIG EAST women’s lacrosse since 2001 to go undefeated in league play. Georgetown (2001-06, 2010), Syracuse (2008, 2010, 2013) and Louisville (2014) have all had undefeated seasons in the conference since 2001
- 4: straight home wins for the Orange and Blue
- 3: senior goalkeeper Mary-Sean Wilcox is a triplet with two brothers. The trio has an older brother, and Wilcox’s three brothers surprised her on Senior Day by singing the National Anthem prior to the Gators-Huskies tilt
- 2: straight BIG EAST Tournament appearance for the Gators, who clinched a spot in the four-team tournament with the win at Villanova on April 16