Shots were difficult to come by for the Gators on Saturday in a 14-4 loss to Maryland. (Photo: Jim Burgess/UAA)
Gators Depart 14-4 Loss to No. 1-Ranked Maryland on Quest to Improve
Saturday, March 19, 2016 | Lacrosse
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Second-ranked Florida could not overcome an 8-0 Maryland run in second half
By: Taryn Bray, Writing Intern
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- A rainy Saturday afternoon at Donald R. Dizney Stadium proved not to be the Gators' day.
In a rare No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup, lopsided numbers in almost every category seemed to be a theme in the second half as the No. 1-ranked defending national champion Maryland Terrapins beat No. 2 Florida, 14-4.
The Gators played solid defense in the first half, limiting the Terps to a season-tying low of four goals as they stayed within striking distance, trailing 4-2 at the break.
The second half was a different story in front of a season-high crowd of 1,015, the ninth-largest in program history.
The Gators trimmed the lead to 4-3 less than five minutes into the half when Nicole Graziano took a pass from Lindsey Ronbeck and flipped a shot into the net. The Terrapins trampled the Gators from there. The Gators got dominated on draw controls Saturday, 15-5. (Photo: Jim Burgess/UAA) However, Maryland's offense was unstoppable the rest of the way as it has been all season. The Terrapins entered averaging 15.8 goals per game.
With 21 minutes remaining, Maryland went on an 8-0 run without allowing the Gators to score again until there were just under nine minutes to go. By that time the Terps were up 13-4 and Florida's chances were washed away.
"We didn't play our game in the second half," said Graziano. "We were too focused on ourselves on defense and not on the team, so we left a couple people wide open."
Ultimately, the barrage of second half goals proved unable to be conquered, including five consecutive unassisted goals following Graziano's score.
With a loss like this comes reflection time. A time where the Gators can focus on the things they didn't do well, and emphasize the things they did.
On Florida's to-do list is finding a way to limit the fouls, as the Gators committed 28 to Maryland's nine, which in turn led to seven free positions for the Terps on which they capitalized by scoring four goals.
And, perhaps most importantly, the Gators will want to work on draw control, as the Terps took that category by a margin of 15-5.
"We didn't have a lot of draw controls and when you don't have the ball it's really hard to score," head coach Amanda O'Leary said. "We played a lot of defense and ultimately all of that put together can make a difficult second half."
A big reason the draw control proved to be so difficult for the Gators is because of the player who takes most of them for Maryland: Taylor Cummings.
Last year Cummings became the youngest female two-time Tewaaraton Winner, an honor given to the year's most outstanding female lacrosse player. She led the Terps with six draw controls on Saturday, which is one more than the Gators' total.
Florida made the highly anticipated matchup with the national champs interesting early.
Maryland opened the scoring with two quick goals but the Gators were able to tie up the game with a pair of goals from Ronbeck, a freshman from Manhasset, N.Y. In fact, three of the four Gator goals were scored by freshmen.
"It was good [the freshmen] were able to connect because the rest of us couldn't," said senior Graziano, who finished with one goal. "It's good going forward because we know everyone of all ages can score."
Saturday's loss is the first of the season for the Gators but there's still a whole lot of lacrosse to be played. That is a message Florida will rally around as it tries to move past Saturday's disappointing defeat for a potential rematch with the Terrapins in the postseason.
"There's a lot we can work on and because it's only the middle of the season," Ronbeck said. "We get to build upon what we need to work on which is good for us because we're such a new team."
The Gators dropped to 9-1 on the season and will look to bounce back from this loss as they open up Big East play next weekend at home against Vanderbilt. Meanwhile, the top-ranked Terrapins improved to 6-0.
