No. 14 Gators Welcome Lehigh on Saturday
Friday, March 4, 2011 | Lacrosse
The No. 14 Florida lacrosse team, coming off a 10-day hiatus, faces Lehigh on Saturday afternoon in the friendly confines of Donald R. Dizney Stadium. Opening draw is set for 1:00 p.m.
The Gators are coming off a 16-6 victory over UMBC, led by 10 combined points from sophomores Kitty Cullen (Rockville, Md.) and Ashley Bruns (Ellicott City, Md.). Seven different players got on the board for the Orange and Blue. Cullen led the Gators with five goals on nine shots. Bruns scored four goals and notched the only assist of the evening, a feed to Janine Hillier (Farmingdale, N.Y.) in the sixth minute of the game.
Sophomore midfielder Brittany Dashiell (Bel Air, Md.) leads the team in ground balls with eight, while sophomore attacker Hillier has 15 draw controls to lead the Gators. Hillier is third in the conference in draw controls, while Dashiell ranks fifth in the conference in ground balls.
Florida is ninth in the NCAA in points, 11th in scoring margin, 13th in scoring defense and 16th in scoring offense. Cullen leads the nation in goals scored, while also ranking sixth in both points overall and goals per game. Cullen also leads the ALC in points per game. Bruns ranks fourth in the conference and 15th in the nation in points overall.
This is the first-ever meeting between Florida and Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks are coming off a 16-3 victory over St. Joseph's. Senior midfielder Lauren Dykstra led the team with five goals and an assist. The Mountain Hawks' defense only allowed 14 shots to Lehigh's 30. Dykstra earned the Patriot League's Midfielder of the Week honors in the first week of competition, while also being named WomensLacrosse.com Second Team All-America last season.
Along with Dykstra, Lehigh returns its other five All-Patriot League players from last season, including First-Team All-League members Kelly Draper, Leigh Ann Torcivia and Allison Thomas, along with Second-Team All-League members Julie McBrien and Kenzie Dambach.
Florida is 2-0 against teams from the state of Pennsylvania. UF defeated La Salle, 15-5, on February 23rd of last year. On April 3rd, 2010, the Gators defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions for their first ALC win and their first win over a ranked team.
Saturday's game can be heard and seen on www.GatorZone.com with Andrew Suarez and Michael Gillespie covering the action. Fans can also follow @GatorZoneLAX on Twitter for live scoring updates.
