Gators Put Dolphins Away Early

Wednesday, February 28

Gainesville, FL

7 PM

Florida Gators

3-1

Jacksonville

2-2

Jacksonville

FLORIDA

Grace Haus, right, led the Gators with a career-high four goals on Wednesday. (Photo: Piper Hansen/UAA Communications)

Gators Put Dolphins Away Early

Wednesday, February 28, 2018 | Lacrosse

Box Score Photo Gallery by Alex de la Osa and Piper Hansen

UF utilized a 9-0 run in the first 20 minutes of the game and never looked back.

By: Dustin Ciraco

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A 9-0 run during the first 20 minutes of action Wednesday night powered the University of Florida lacrosse team to a 16-5 victory over the Jacksonville Dolphins.

Florida (3-1) built a quick four-goal lead less than four minutes into the contest, including scoring the first two goals of the game just 70 seconds after the opening draw.

The Gator defense limited Jacksonville (2-2) to only two goals through the first 45 minutes of game time, and held the Dolphins to a .208 (5/24) shooting percentage for the entire game.

All 26 Gators who were dressed for action Wednesday night saw playing time, including reserve goalkeepers Olivia Cole and Kenzii Kittell. Both Cole (2) and Kittell (1) made their first save of the season.

Freshman Grace Haus paced the Gator attack by scoring a career-high four goals on five shot attempts, while adding two ground balls and a draw control.

Pirreca sisters Shayna and Sydney each recorded a hat trick and tied for the team lead with four points apiece. Junior midfielder Madi Hall made an impact in the draw circle by winning a team-high three draws.

Florida's defense only allowed one Jacksonville starter to score a goal, and held JU's Ashtyn Hiron to zero goals on three shot attempts.

Junior goalkeeper Haley Hicklen logged 47:53 minutes in the cage against the Dolphins, turning in an 11-save, .786 save percentage performance.

Hicklen Continues Impressive Start to 2018 Season
Haley Hicklen posted her fourth consecutive game with at least 10 saves thus far in 2018. Hicklen has saved 49 goals at a .527 save percentage through four games while facing 116 shots. The junior sits just 26 saves shy of second place all-time at Florida.

Records:
No. 4 Florida: 3-1 (0-0)
Jacksonville: 2-2 (0-0)

Notable:

Head Coach Amanda O'Leary is looking to become just the fifth coach in the history of Division I women's lacrosse to win 300 games in her career. O'Leary is currently 296-98 in 23 seasons as a head coach.
Lindsey Ronbeck (101) became the 10th Gator to score at least 100 career goals against JU.
Haley Hicklen needs just 26 saves to move into second place all-time at Florida.
Florida owns a 80-13 (.860) record all-time at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
#PirrecaPower: Pirreca sisters Shayna and Sydney have combined to score 35% (22/63) of UF's goals in 2018.

O'Leary's Insight:
"We came out of the locker room ready to go tonight and put some goals on the board early. At the same time, I think Jacksonville did a great job and played very well tonight. They (Jacksonville) stepped in and did a great job of putting us on our heels a few times. We need to continue to pay more attention to the little things as we move forward until we play a complete 60-minute game at the level I know we are capable of."

Up Next
Florida hits the road for the first time in 2018, with a marquee matchup at No. 3 North Carolina (3-1) set for Saturday afternoon.

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