No. 2 Gators Look to Finish Strong at Cornell
Friday, April 29, 2011 | Lacrosse
The No. 2 Florida lacrosse team closes the regular season with a trip to Ithaca, N.Y. to face the Cornell Big Red on Sunday, May 1st. Opening draw is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field. Live audio can be found on WRUF Sports Radio AM 850 with live video on www.CornellBigRed.com.
Florida has had the last two weeks off due to final exams, having played their last game against No. 17 Vanderbilt on April 17th. The Gators defeated the Commodores, 8-7, courtesy of sophomore Brittany Dashiell's (Bel Air, Md.) game-winning goal from free position with 30 seconds remaining in the contest. With the win, Florida secured the American Lacrosse Conference regular season title outright with an undefeated 5-0 conference slate.
The Orange and Blue rose to the No. 2 spot this week, the highest rank for a second-year program in IWLCA poll history. The Gators' ascension to the No. 2 spot is one better than the No. 3 rank achieved by the North Carolina Tar Heels on April 7, 1997. Florida has won 14 games straight since their only defeat of the season, a 9-10 overtime loss to then-No. 3 North Carolina. Since then, the Gators have outscored opponents, 207-113.
Tewaaraton nominee Kitty Cullen (Rockville, Md.) leads the nation in goals per game with 4.47 and has 73 points so far this season. She has 17 free position goals on the year and owns a .568 shooting percentage. Florida is ranked third in the nation in win percentage (.933), sixth in scoring defense (8.2), seventh in scoring margin (6.2) and ninth in scoring offense (14.4).
Individually, sophomore goalkeeper Mikey Meagher (Liverpool, N.Y.) is fifth in the country in goals-against average with 7.77 and 19th in save percentage (.468). Additionally, Cullen ranks second in goals overall (67), third in points per game (4.87) and sixth in points overall (73). 2010 National Rookie of the Year Ashley Bruns (Ellicott City, Md.) is having a stellar sophomore campaign, ranking 18th in points overall (61) and 20th in points per game (4.07).
Florida is looking to defeat Cornell for the second time in program history, as the Gators took on the Big Red in Gainesville last year, coming up with a 10-5 victory. Coach Amanda O'Leary is very familiar with Cornell, as she spent 14 years at Ivy League foe, Yale. O'Leary holds a 10-5 career record over Cornell, including nine wins while with the Bulldogs. Against current head coach Jenny Graap, O'Leary split the series 5-5 until becoming a Gator, as she now owns the head-to-head coaching record, 6-5.
Cornell is 5-8 (3-4 Ivy) in 2011, though six of its losses have come against top 20 teams. Led by junior Tewaaraton nominee Jessi Steinberg (35-4-39) and two-year captain Libby Johnson (19-7-26), the Big Red offense is scoring 9.3 goals per contest and averaging nearly 28 shots per game. Sophomore Kate Ivory paces the defense in ground balls (31) and caused turnovers (22), while Steinberg has a team-best 23 draws, with Katie Kirk (22-3-25) has won 19. In goal, Kyla Dambach (11.22 GAA, .385 save percentage) and Courtney Gallagher (8.12 GAA, .382 save percentage) each have seen significant time between the pipes.
Florida's matchup with Cornell will be broadcast on www.GatorZone.com and WRUF Sports Radio AM 850 with Mike Gillespie and Kailey Mizelle on the call. Fans can also visit www.CornellBigRed.com for live video feed.
· Game Notes
o Coach Amanda O'Leary is looking for her largest single-season win total in her head coaching career. She won 14 games three separate times at Yale, including in 2003 when she took the Bulldogs to the NCA Quarterfinals. She won 14 games in her second season with each program (Yale 1995: 14-2; Florida 2011: 14-1).
o Up until Florida's matchup with Vanderbilt, sophomore phenom Kitty Cullen had scored at least a hat trick in every game. Cullen, Brittany Dashiell and Ashley Bruns have 15-game point streaks, with Bruns scoring a goal in all 15 games this season. That matches the Ellicott City, Md native's streak from last year, as she scored a goal from February 20th to April 18th.
o The Gators and the Big Red have faced three of the same opponents in 2011:
? Colgate
· Florida on March 15th (W, 19-4)
· Cornell on March 2nd (W, 15-14)
? UNC
· Florida on February 12th (L OT, 9-10)
· Cornell on March 23rd (L, 5-14)
? Syracuse
· Florida on March 19th (W, 16-11)
· Cornell on April 26th (L, 9-13)
o By the Numbers:
| Cornell | Category | Florida |
| 5-8 | Record | 14-1 |
| 9.3 | Scoring Offense | 14.4 |
| 10.6 | Scoring Defense | 8.2 |
| -1.3 | Scoring Margin | +6.2 |
| 27.6 | Shots Avg | 31.2 |
| 15.4 | Ground Balls Avg | 14.6 |
| 11.8 | Turnovers Avg | 10.6 |
| 7.6 | Caused Turnovers Avg | 6.5 |
| .490 | Draw Controls Pct | 14.6 |
| 6.7 | Goalkeeper Saves Avg | 7.6 |
| .385 | Save Percentage | .463 |
