The secret is out.
The UF women's lacrosse team might be entering only its third season, but the rest of the lacrosse community knows how good the Gators are.
Most lacrosse experts consider the Gators a legitimate national title contender.
(Photo: Gators junior attacker Kitty Cullen, the American Lacrosse Conference Player of Year in 2011).
While that seems far-fetched for most third-year programs regardless of the sport, not so for Florida considering that in only their second year the Gators won the American Lacrosse Conference regular-season title and beat eventual national champion Northwestern along the way.
The Gators will get a glimpse of their potential right away, traveling to North Carolina to face the Tar Heels on Saturday afternoon in the season opener.
North Carolina features a pair of players – Laura Zimmerman and Kara Cannizzaro – who are teammates with Florida assistants Erica LaGrow and Caitlyn McFadden on the U.S. National Senior Team.
There is one secret that is not out about the Gators: a revamped offense featuring a strong group of freshmen who helped Florida thump the England National Team 17-2 in an exhibition last month.
The newcomers provide Florida with some options not there in the past.
“I think you are going to see some new plays from us,'' Gators coach Amanda O'Leary said. “We have been limited in the past because of our personnel. We have some new faces and they provide sort of a different ability for us. You are going to see some new things from us.”
In the exhibition win over England, seven different Gators scored a goal, including a game-high five from newcomer Gabi Wiegand, a junior transfer from the University of Richmond. Freshman Nicole Graziano scored four goals and last year's leading scorer, Kitty Cullen, added three. Two other true freshmen, Nora Barry and Taylor McCord, also scored for Florida.
With a strong cast of returning players and newcomers, O'Leary is excited about the prospects – and facing the Tar Heels immediately out of the gate.
“They present a huge challenge for us,'' O'Leary said. “It's a team we've never beaten in the two years I've been here. They are ranked in the top 3 or 4 of every poll I've seen. It's going to be a great test for us.”
The biggest question facing the Gators is who will start at goalkeeper in a competition between a pair of juniors.
Returning starter Mikey Meagher earned the win over England with four saves, while Cara Canington played the second half and recorded six saves. Each allowed one goal, setting the stage for a good battle leading into the opener.
“It's going to be determined this week in practice,'' O'Leary said. “They both did a fantastic job against England. They came up with some big saves for us.”
