Lacrosse Set to Open Conference Play Saturday
Friday, March 12, 2010 | Lacrosse
The Florida lacrosse team heads to Baltimore this weekend for their first American Lacrosse Conference game against Johns Hopkins. The game will be at 1:00 p.m. at Homewood Field.
The Gators (3-2) rallied but came up short in their last outing against No. 5 Georgetown, losing 13-11 on Tuesday night. The Blue Jays (3-3) lost to No. 12 Towson 11-10 on Wednesday night.
Four of the Florida's five games this season have been decided by 10 goals or more, with the exception coming against the Hoyas. Conversely, all of Johns Hop?kins' games have been decided by less than 10 goals, including two one-goal decisions. All three of the Blue Jays' losses came against ranked opponents.
This weekend will be a homecoming of sorts for many Gator players. Of the 29 players on the roster, 18 are from the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area.
The Florida offense is led by attacker Ashley Bruns (Ellicott City, Md.), who has a team-high 25 points through five games on 13 goals and 12 assists. Caroline Chesterman (South Nyack, N.Y.) has 11 goals and two assists while Julie Schindel (Edgewater, Md.) has 10 goals and three assists. Midfielder Brittany Dashiell (Bel Air, Md.) also has 10 goals.
The Blue Jays average 11.8 goals per game. Paige Ibello leads the team with 14 goals, while Candace Rossi has 13 and Colleen McCaffrey has 11. Rossi is also tied for the team-lead with five assists. Hopkins has outscored opponents by 11 goals and outshot the opposition by 29 in six games this season.
After allowing 10 goals in the first half to No. 5 Georgetown, the Gators defensive effort tightened in the second half and allowed only three goals. They allowed the Hoyas to convert on only one of five free position attempts. Goalie Cara Canington (Bel Air, Md.) recorded nine saves on 33 shots.
Through six games, the Blue Jays are outscoring opponents by a margin of 1.83 goals. Goalie Cosette Larash has a 10.39 goals against average and 43 saves on the season.
Live scoring will be available through GatorZone.com, and fans can also get score updates by following GatorZoneLAX on Twitter.
The Gators return home next week and begin a three-game homestand against Marist (March 17), No. 15 New Hampshire (March 20) and Cornell (March 24).
-UF-
