Losing to a North Carolina team with significant championship experience in the opening game of the season was acceptable.  Falling to a No. 5 Syracuse team in overtime was heartbreaking but understandable.  Getting beat by the undisputed best team in the nation, Maryland, might even have been expected.  But a contest with the No. 17 Stony Brook in Gainesville was one that everyone thought the Florida Women’s Lacrosse team should have won. Don’t get me wrong; Stony Brook is an excellent team with an outstanding defense and some fine offensive players.  I just believe that this game was one that The Gators lost, not a game that The Seawolves won. This loss continues an unfortunate trend for Amanda O’Leary’s squad; not playing a full 60 minutes.  Florida has now lost three straight games, dropping them to 6-4 heading into conference play. In the first of these three consecutive losses, The Gators had the ball and the lead with less than two minutes remaining but mental errors allowed Syracuse to earn the victory in overtime.  In the second, The Gators competed with the best team in the country for the entire first half, but came out slow in the second and fell way behind.  In the third and most recent, sloppy play resulted in Shannon Gilroy and company being unable to pull off a comeback despite having multiple opportunities. This game was a tale of two styles of play. Florida wanted to play fast and aggressive, Stony Brook wanted to play slow and conservative. Coming into Tuesday’s game, Florida was one of the highest scoring teams in the nation but Stony Brook owned the county’s best defense.  When Stony Brook was clearing the ball, goalie Katlyn Leahy would often hold the ball for nearly a minute simply waiting for her the right opportunity while The Gators were double teaming and playing for the turnover whenever someone other than Leahy had the ball. When the whistle blew to start the game, Florida jumped out fast just like they wanted to; a Devon Schneider interception lead to a quick UF goal from Mollie Stevens.  The lead didn’t last long though, Kylie Ohlmiller scored next for Stony Brook. Next, UF rattled off three straight goals to make it 4-1 before the game was five minutes old.  Then the Seawolves started winning the possession battle and the Stony Brook pace took over the game.  Florida’s defense was very good at preventing the Seawolves from scoring for long periods of time but the team failed to cause turnovers.  Stony Brook was very content passing the ball around and lulling The Gator defense to sleep before capitalizing on a single opportunity or the slightest UF error. Stony Brook ended the final twenty minutes of the half on a four-goal run to take a 4-5 lead into halftime.  Florida simply did not have enough opportunities because the Seawolves possessed the ball so well.  When The Gators did have the ball on the offense side of the field, sloppy play resulted in short possessions and missed opportunities. Amanda O’Leary’s team committed 11 turnovers throughout the game; far too many to win against a team like Stony Brook that has solid defense and slows down the pace. Stony Brook never gave up the lead.  Michelle Rubino, Courtney Murphy, and Kylie Ohlmiller led the way for the Seawolves.  Rubino tallied two goals and an assist, in addition to six draw controls, Murphy picked up a hat trick, and Ohlmiller had five goals and six points.  The final score was 11-12 in favor of Stony Brook. The Gators look to rebound from this streak of losses in Nashville against Vanderbilt (3-5) on Sunday.  This will be Florida’s first Big East conference game.  With only one significant out-of-conference victory (Loyola), Florida will have to win the Big East if they want to be certain of making the 26-team field NCAA tournament. UF has won their last four contests with Vandy and the Commodores are currently on a five game losing streak, so on paper this doesn’t look like the closest matchup.  Still, both teams are desperate for a win and, now that we are entering conference play, these games are extra important.  The Gators will have to focus on limiting mental errors and controlling a very balanced Vanderbilt offense, if they wish to secure a victory.