Gators To Take On Tribe Saturday
Friday, March 16, 2012 | Lacrosse
The No. 6/5 Florida lacrosse team travels to Williamsburg, Va., this weekend to take on the College of William & Mary. The Tribe is the Gators' first-ever opponent from the Colonial Athletic Association. Opening draw is set for 1 p.m.
Florida hosted Stony Brook on Wednesday, who is ranked No. 19 in the Inside Lacrosse/deBeer media poll. The two teams were neck-and-neck through the first 27 minutes of play, with UF holding a 3-2 edge.
An unassisted goal by Kitty Cullen (Rockville, Md.) with 2:24 to play in the first half sparked a 5-0 run for the Gators, who soon held an 8-2 advantage over the Seawolves.
Stony Brook put up two more goals early in the second half, but Florida closed out the game with seven unanswered points, to defeat the Seawolves, 17-4.
Caroline Chesterman (South Nyack, N.Y.) led the Gators with a career-high five goals along with an assist, and Nora Barry (Marcellus, N.Y.) and Brittany Dashiell (Bel Air, Md.) each put up three goals and an assist. Cullen extended her team-leading scoring streak to 33 games, as well as seven straight games with an assist, tallying two goals and two assists.
Shannon Gilroy (Huntington, N.Y.) had another strong game in the midfield, earning three ground balls, five draw controls and two caused turnovers. Emily Dohony (Parkton, Md.) earned a team-high four ground balls and Kayla Stolins (Glen Arm, Md,) notched a personal-best four draw controls.
William & Mary opens the season with a 2-5 record, defeating Virginia Tech and Longwood but falling to nationally-ranked Duke, Maryland, Northwestern and Virginia, all in the IWLCA top 10, along with a 13-12 nail-biter at Navy.
The Tribe had four returning players garner preseason all-conference honors; senior defender Denise Lenihan and junior attacker Krystin Mackrides were named Preseason All-CAA, while seniors Maggie Anderson and Sarah Mulvey earned honorable mentions.
William & Mary adds Kaleigh Noon to the lineup, who earned CAA Rookie of the Week honors Monday after tallying two goals, four draw controls and ground ball at No. 1 Northwestern.
Taelor Salmon leads the Tribe with 15 goals, and Anderson has 19 points, including a team-best seven assists. Mulvey is tops on the team with 15 ground balls, and Jenny Michael has a school-best 15 draw controls.
Lucy Ferguson has played the majority of the team's minutes in goal, earning 64 saves while allowing 91 goals. Entering the week, her 55 saves ranked 14th in the nation.
William & Mary's broadcast will be available through GatorVision free of charge to those with GatorVision accounts. Additionally, Florida's audio broadcast will be streamed on GatorZone.com with Kailey Mizelle on the call. LiveStats will be presented by NeuLion, and for in-game updates and notes from the press box, follow @GatorZoneLAX on twitter.
