No. 10 Florida Ready for Colgate Rematch Under the Lights
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 | Lacrosse
The No. 10 Florida lacrosse team takes on the Colgate Raiders under the lights of Donald R. Dizney Stadium on Tuesday evening. Opening draw is at 6:30 p.m.
Florida will be looking to avenge an 11-12 overtime loss at Colgate last spring. Caroline Chesterman (South Nyack, N.Y.) and Caroline Cochran (Annapolis, Md.) each led with three goals apiece, while Brittany Dashiell (Bel Air, Md.) and Janine Hillier (Farmingdale, N.Y.) contributed three points each (1 G, 2 A).
The Gators have outscored opponents, 100-46, since the Florida's overtime loss to then-No. 3 North Carolina.
Florida is led by sophomore midfielder and Tewaaraton Watch List honoree Kitty Cullen (Rockville, Md.) with 36 points on the year (32 G, 4 A), leading the nation in both goals overall and goals per game, while ranking seventh in points overall.
The Gators are on a six-game win streak, the longest in program history. With convincing victories over Jacksonville, No. 20 Denver, UMBC, Lehigh, No. 9 Georgetown and Temple, the Orange and Blue are picking up momentum in the middle of their nine-game homestand. The Gators are undefeated at home in 2011. Florida has four more games in the homestand, including their first ALC contest of 2011 against Ohio State, before hitting the road on April 2nd. The Gators' last road trip was on February 16th to nearby Jacksonville.
Florida, coming off victories over then-No. 9 Georgetown and Temple, became the fastest-rising program to reach the top-10 since the IWLCA poll's inception in 1988. The Gators were ranked No. 10 by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association on Monday afternoon. It took the Gators only 13 months (17 polls) to reach the top-10.
Florida's Sam Farrell (Millersville, Md.) was named the American Lacrosse Conference's Defensive Player of the Week for games played from March 7-13. It was Farrell's second ALC Weekly honor of her career and Florida's second ALC Weekly honor of the season.
The Raiders are now 3-3 on the season, having defeated Lehigh, 19-16, on Saturday. Colleen Bubnack and Courtney Miller each had nine-point games for Colgate.
Last year, Colgate made it to the Patriot League semifinals before losing to Navy, 10-15. They were led by then-senior Meghan Lawler in 2010, who contributed 77 points (33 G, 44 A). Bubnack is the Raiders' leading scorer in 2011 with 27 goals and 10 assists.
The Gators' matchup with the Raiders will be broadcast on www.GatorZone.com and WRUF SportsRadio 850 with Michael Gillespie on the call.
