No. 4 Florida Lacrosse to Host Jacksonville Wednesday in 2012 Home Opener
Tuesday, February 14, 2012 | Lacrosse
The No. 4 Florida Lacrosse team returns home Wednesday, Feb. 15, to host Jacksonville University in its 2012 home opener. It marks the third matchup between the two Florida teams, with UF holding a 2-0 lead on the series. The Gators defeated the Dolphins, 16-6, on Feb. 20, 2010, in the first-ever Division I lacrosse game to be held in the state of Florida, in front of a more-than-soldout crowd of 2,114 fans. Florida then defeated Jacksonville again, 18-9, on Feb. 16, 2011.
The Gators opened the 2012 season in Chapel Hill, N.C., Saturday, when they took on No. 3 North Carolina in a top-5 showdown. Florida outshot UNC, 25-20, and led the Tar Heels, 22-13, in ground balls, but Carolina goalie Lauren Maksym's 10 saves proved the difference-maker, as the Tar Heels came out on top, 11-9.
Kitty Cullen (Rockville, Md.) led the Gators' offense, recording three goals and an assist, while Ashley Bruns (Ellicott City, Md.) scored three goals of her own. Brittany Dashiell (Bel Air, Md.) notched a goal and an assist, while collecting three draw controls, two ground balls and two caused turnovers. Junior transfer Gabi Wiegand (Bay Shore, N.Y.) scored her first official goal for the Orange and Blue late in the second half, and Caroline Chesterman (South Nyack, N.Y.) recorded the Gators' first-ever man-up goal.
Kayla Stolins (Glen Arm, Md.) led the Gators' ground game, notching a team-high three ground balls and adding a caused turnover, and defender Emily Dohony (Parkton, Md.) tied for the team lead with two caused turnovers. Freshmen Shannon Gilroy (Huntington, N.Y.) and Nora Barry (Marcellus, N.Y.) both earned their first career starts, while rookies Nicole Graziano (Mendham, N.J.) and Sally Jentis (Ridgewood, N.J.) both saw significant minutes off the bench, recording two ground balls and a caused turnover each.
Mikey Meagher (Liverpool, N.Y.) and Cara Canington (Bel Air, Md.) split time in the goal cage, as Meagher recorded two saves and a ground ball while allowing seven goals in the first half and Canington gave up four goals and made one save in the second half.
The Dolphins open their third season at Florida on Wednesday. After an 8-11 rookie campaign, Jacksonville rebounded in 2011 to go 14-5, including a 10-game winning streak, and earned its first National Lacrosse Conference regular-season title with a perfect, 7-0, finish. JU used decisive tournament victories over Howard and Davidson to advance to its first-ever NLC Championship game, where the Dolphins were edged, 13-12, by second-seeded High Point in overtime.
As a team, Jacksonville led the nation in scoring offense (16.21) in 2011 and was second in scoring margin (6.89) and ground balls per game (20.89). JU returns leading-scorer Morgan Derner, who ranked 15th in the NCAA in goals per game (3.12) and 22nd in points per game (3.94) as a freshman. They also welcome back goalkeeper Karli Tobin, who finished 21st in goals-against average (9.27), 41st in save percentage (.434) and 44th in total saves (128).
The 2012 home opener will be broadcast on Sports Radio 850 AM and streamed live on GatorZone.com. Video of the broadcast will be available to subscribing members on GatorVision. Live statistics can be found here, and as always, follow @GatorZoneLAX on twitter for live updates from the press box.
