No. 10 Gators Prepare for Weekend Matchup with No. 11 Syracuse
Friday, March 18, 2011 | Lacrosse
The No. 10 Florida lacrosse team plays host to the No. 11 Syracuse Orange on Saturday afternoon. Opening draw is set for 1:00 p.m. and will air live on Sun Sports.
The Gators come in to Saturday's game riding a seven-game winning streak, as their only loss came on February 12th to then-No. 3 North Carolina in overtime. Since then, Florida has outscored opponents 118-52, continuing their momentum towards the end of their nine-game homestand. Florida has three 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 is led by Tewaaraton Watch List honoree Kitty Cullen (Rockville, Md.), who has 36 goals on the season after finding the back of the net 31 times in all of 2010. The sophomore midfielder leads the nation in goals overall and goals per game, while ranking fifth in points overall.
The Gators, 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. It took the Gators only 13 months (17 polls) to reach the top-10 and are the fastest in Gator history to do so. Florida ranks sixth in the NCAA in scoring margin, eighth in points and eighth in scoring offense.
Sophomore midfielder 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 (Week 1: Kitty Cullen, Offensive Player of the Week). Farrell was also named to the womenslacrosse.com Honor Roll for her efforts against Georgetown and Temple.
The Orange are now 2-3 on the season, having defeated Towson, 11-5, on Tuesday evening. Freshman Alyssa Murray recorded a career-high five points to give Syracuse its first road win of 2011. Last year, Syracuse made a huge postseason run, making it all the way to the National Semifinals before losing to the eventual National Champion Maryland Terrapins.
Syracuse returns four postseason award winners in senior goalkeeper Liz Hogan, who was the IWLCA Goalkeeper of the Year a season ago, senior attacker Tee Ladouceur, senior defender Lindsay Rogers and sophomore attacker Michelle Tumolo.
Saturday's matchup will be televised on Sun Sports (Gainesville/Ocala Cox Cable channel 48 or 748) with Bernie Guenther and former Gators assistant coach and FIL World Cup Champion (Player: 1993; Assistant Coach: 2009) Jennifer Ulehla on the call. Fans can also listen in on www.GatorZone.com with Andrew Suarez and Mike Gillespie calling the action.
There are many promotions for Saturday's game, including:
· Kids Day, all children and their families are invited to join Alberta, Magic Mike and a caricature artist for face painting, sign making, games and much more prior to the game, starting at 12 PM.
· All local members of the Big Brothers, Big Sisters organization are also invited to attend as Gainesville Mayor Craig Lowe has proclaimed the weekend of March 18-20th "Big Brothers Big Sisters Weekend".
· Autographs following the game on the concourse along with a question and answer session with Gator assistant coaches Erica LaGrow & Caitlyn McFadden.
· The first 300 fans to arrive will receive free Florida Lacrosse t-shirts.
· Admission is free.
