via press release – photo via UF web site   VILLANOVA, Pa. – After winning the BIG EAST regular season outright April 29, the No. 2 Florida Gators (15-2, 9-0) head to Villanova, Pa. looking to hoist the conference tournament trophy for the third straight season. Florida will re-match with Temple in the first conference tournament semifinal Thursday at 4:30 p.m. on the BIG EAST Digital Network after defeating the Owls 15-5 in Philadelphia April 22. BIG EAST Tournament Semifinal 1: Florida vs. Temple Florida claimed four major BIG EAST Awards on Wednesday: Attacker of the Year, Defender of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, Coaching Staff of the Year — and 10 Gators were named All-Conference, the most in program history. Florida has won seven conference championships in the last eight seasons since the program started in 2010, and the Gators have won back-to-back-to-back regular-season titles after sharing 2015 with Georgetown. In all, UF has four conference tournament championships: 2012 & 2014 in ALC, 2015 & 2016 in the BIG EAST. The Gators ran the table in the BIG EAST last Saturday with a 15-3 win over Georgetown. Florida now has five undefeated conference season in its short history: 2011, 2012, 2014 (all in the ALC) & 2016, 2017 in the BIG EAST. Florida’s nine conference wins in 2017 were a program record. #FLax vs. The Field During the course of the regular season, the Gators dispatched Temple, Denver, and Georgetown by a combined 29 goals. Of note from those games:

• Florida scored 15 goals against each opponent
• The Gator defense did not allow more than eight goals in any of those games, and forced opponents into a .286 shooting percentage
• UF won the draw control battle in each contest, ending up with a plus-19 advantage
• Junior Shayna Pirreca led the Gator attack, scoring 13 points (seven goals, six assists) against the Owls, Pioneers, and Hoyas
• Sophomore Haley Hicklen added 25 saves on a blistering .672 save percentage versus the trio of opponents

No. 2 Florida vs. Temple Broadcast Information Time: 4:30 p.m. Live Stream: BIG EAST Digital Network Live Stats: GameTracker Pregame Notes Series Information

• Thursday’s game will be the seventh meeting between Florida and Temple
• Florida leads: 6-0
• Home: 3-0 | Away: 2-0 | Neutral: 1-0
• Last Time Out: April 22, 2017 at Temple | W, 15-5

Quick Facts

• The Gators have won 20 consecutive BIG EAST games dating back to the 2015 season
• #PirrecaPower: Pirreca sisters Shayna and Sydney have combined to score 26% (74/285) of Florida’s goals in 2017
• Shayna Pirreca is just 10 goals away from becoming the ninth Gator to score 100 career goals
• UF’s defense is limiting opponents to just 5.78 goals per game and a .287 shooting percentage in BIG EAST play

Fan Information Parking for Florida lacrosse fans planning on attending Thursday’s semifinal will be available in parking lot A2, located right next to Villanova Stadium. Up Next Should the Gators defeat Temple, they will advance to the BIG EAST Tournament Championship game, against the winner of Georgetown/Denver, on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.