Top-Seeded Gators Begin Quest for First ALC Tournament Title
Friday, May 6, 2011 | Lacrosse
The No. 4 Florida lacrosse team begins its quest for its first American Lacrosse Conference Tournament title today as the Gators take on the No. 18 Ohio State Buckeyes in the first semifinal matchup at VU Lacrosse Complex. Opening draw is set for 3:00 p.m. CST. Live video and stats can be found at VUCommodores.com and live audio can be found on www.GatorZone.com and WRUF Sports Radio AM 850 with Kailey Mizelle on the call.
Florida enters Friday's game as the No. 1 seed in the ALC Tournament, having gone undefeated against conference foes this Spring. In their last contest against one another, the Gators jumped out to a 7-0 lead behind five goals from five first half goals from ALC Player of the Year Kitty Cullen (Rockville, Md.). The Buckeyes came roaring back and cut the lead to one with six minutes remaining in the game. A goal from Jamie Reeg (Atlantis, Fla.) after winning the draw control sealed the win for the Gators, 10-8. Cullen had six goals total in that matchup. Ohio State was led by First Team All-ALC midfielder Alayna Markwordt.
Tewaaraton nominee Cullen has 68 goals on the year, averaging 4.25 goals per game to lead the NCAA. She is also second in goals overall (68) and eighth in points (74) and points per game (4.63). First Team All-ALC attacker Ashley Bruns (Ellicott City, Md.) leads the Gators in assists (23) while also ranking second in points (62) and goals (39) and is third on the team in caused turnovers (14). She averages 3.88 points and 2.44 goals per game to put her among the top 50 scorers in the country.
Florida is ranked sixth in the nation in win percentage (.875), and seventh in scoring defense (8.25) and scoring margin (5.63). Second Team All-ALC midfielder Janine Hillier (Farmingdale, N.Y.) comes in to today with 23 goals on the season, while also recording 21 ground balls, 32 draw controls and a team-leading 16 caused turnovers.
Second Team All-ALC goalkeeper Mikey Meagher (Liverpool, N.Y.) ranks fifth in the nation in goals-against average (7.85) and, along with First Team All-ALC defender Sam Farrell (Millersville, Md.), Second Team All-ALC defender Haydon Judge (Chestertown, Md.) and the rest of the Gator defense, have held 10 of Florida's 16 opponents to single-digit scoring.
The Buckeyes had a record-setting day in the first quarterfinal of Thursday afternoon, as Ohio State won their first-ever game in the ALC Tournament by defeating No.5 seeded and 19th-ranked host Vanderbilt, 14-13. Brittney Zerhusen led all scorers with five goals on the day, finishing with seven points, while Alayna Markwordt added six points off a trio of both goals and assists. A total of six OSU players tallied points on the day, including four who produced a combined eight assists on the team's 11 non-free position goals. Annie Carruthers' performance in goal (15 saves) marks her fourth-consecutive game with 10 or more assists and her sixth double-digit save outing of the season.
No. 3 seed and 17th-ranked Penn State defeated No. 6 seed Johns Hopkins, 17-11. They will face No. 2 seed and third-ranked Northwestern in the second semifinal at 5:30 p.m. (CST).
Updated bracket information can be found here. Follow @GatorZoneLAX on Twitter for live scoring updates and analysis.
