Gators Open Season Two at No. 3 North Carolina
Friday, February 11, 2011 | Lacrosse
The No. 17 Florida lacrosse team travels to Chapel Hill, NC to take on the No. 3 North Carolina Tar Heels in the Gators' season opener. The action begins at 12 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 12 at famed Fetzer Field.
The Gators finished their inaugural season with a 10-8 record overall and 1-4 mark in the American Lacrosse Conference. With three quality wins over ranked opponents last season, these young Gators are certainly ready for the challenge of facing one of last year's national semifinalists.
“I don't think there is a bigger test,” sophomore goalie Cara Canington (Bel Air, Md.) said. “They're No. 3 in the country right now. They're looking good, they're ready to go, and we're just really excited to bring it to them.”
The Gators return 23 letterwinners, including 11 starters and 19 Gators from the inaugural signing class that was ranked No. 1 from Inside Lacrosse magazine. Sophomore attacker and National Freshman of the Year Ashley Bruns (Ellicott City, Md.) returns after being named the Rookie of the Year by the American Lacrosse Conference, WomensLacrosse.com and WomensLax.com. She was named both WomensLacrosse.com and WomensLax.com Rookie of the Week twice, while being named the ALC Rookie of the Week three times. She led all freshmen in the nation in points and ranked second among freshmen in assists and third in goals.
All-ALC standouts Brittany Dashiell (Bel Air, Md.) and Jamie Reeg (Atlantis, Fla.) (both Second Team All-ALC) return for the Gators, as well as ALC All-Tournament Team honoree Kitty Cullen (Rockville, Md.) (Reeg was also named to the Tournament Team). Florida returns a solid nucleus of experience at all positions, gearing up for a strong second season.
“They (North Carolina) are obviously a very strong team with a solid group of returners and a tremendous group of freshmen,” Florida Head Coach Amanda O'Leary said. “We're going to go out there and see what we have and compete as well as we can.”
“I think that this group, with a year under their belt, can compete with the best. It (last year's 18-5 loss) was certainly a learning experience,” O'Leary continued. “We have prepared for our 2011 schedule by playing top-ranked teams in the fall. I think we're more prepared to step on the field against that kind of talent.”
The Tar Heels are coming off a strong showing in 2010, finishing in a tie for first in the ACC, as well as reaching the ACC Tournament Championship game and reaching the NCAA semifinals for a second-straight year.
North Carolina returns seven starters from a team that went 17-3 last season, tying the school record for wins and reaching the NCAA semifinals for the second year in a row after advancing to the national title game in 2009. The Tar Heels are 33-8 over the last two seasons, marking the winningest two-year period in the history of the Carolina program.
The Tar Heels return their top-two scorers, as Carolina was led by now-senior attacker Corey Donohoe, registering 54 goals and 23 assists, and now-junior attacker Becky Lynch, who contributed 41 goals and 25 assists. Donohoe is now on pace to take over as UNC's career scoring leader this season.
Saturday's game can be heard on www.GatorZone.com with Andrew Suarez covering the weekend's action.
