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UF Women: #4 Florida Handles #3 Southen California at Home

Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in .
via press release – photo via UF web site  
Photo Gallery by Jim Burgess
Box Score Box Score   GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida women’s lacrosse team bounced back after dropping its season opener to No. 1 North Carolina by dispatching No. 3 Southern California at home Friday night, 15-10. A pair of five-point outings paced the Gators: Seniors Mollie Stevens (five goals) and Sammi Burgess (two goals, three assists). Stevens also won four draw controls against the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation’s all-time leader in draw controls, Michaela Michael. Florida used a 6-1 run late in the first half to take command of the game, and did not relinquish it even after USC scored four-straight goals early in the second half. The Gator defense forced Southern California into a program-record 24 caused turnovers, and Florida’s offense scored 15 goals on a .517 shooting percentage against the NCAA’s fourth-ranked defense (5.86 gaa, .636 save percentage). #PirrecaPower Pirreca sisters Shayna and Sydney combined for six out of Florida’s 15 goals against the Trojans. Through two games this season, the Pirreca sisters have accounted for 12 out of Florida’s 25 goals (48%).   Records: Florida: 1-1 Southern California: 2-1 Notable:
  • With today’s win, the Gators now have a 31-3 (.912) record all-time in night games
  • After causing two turnovers versus USC, senior Taylor Bresnahan now sits only three back of passing Shannon Gilroy (70) for the most all-time at UF
  • Making her first-ever start as a Gator, freshman midfielder Brianna Harris scored her first career goal to go along with a draw control and a ground ball
  • Sophomore goalkeeper Haley Hicklen set a new career high of 13 saves while turning in a .565 save percentage
  • Florida handed USC just its second loss in 24 games dating back to the 2016 season
O’Leary’s Insight: “I’m very proud of our team. This was a fantastic win for our program. All 32 players were a part of preparing to play USC and the success we had at both ends of the field was due to that preparation. We had some great individual efforts, but this was a total Gator team win.” Senior Mollie Stevens: “We had a long time to practice and prepare for this game. It was a total team effort tonight. Our defense would try to mimic their zone every day in practice and that gave us the ability to take opportunities when we saw them. It really paid off for us in the game.” Up Next The Gators will hit the road for the first time this season on Monday, Feb. 27, as they play in-state foe Jacksonville at 7 P.M. Florida is 6-0 against Jacksonville all time. Follow the Gators #FLax Twitter Instagram Facebook