PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Florida head coach Amanda O'Leary returned to the same field where she developed into one of the top collegiate lacrosse players of her era and led the No. 8 Gators (8-4, 2-0 BIG EAST) to a 17-3 victory over Temple (8-2, 0-1 BIG EAST) on Saturday afternoon at Geasey Field.
Senior Shannon Gilroy led Florida's potent offense, scoring four goals. In total, 10 gators found the back of the net and Florida once again showed why its offense is one of the nation's best.
In a game that turned out to be a high-scoring affair for the Orange & Blue, it didn't seem as if that would be the case through the first 20 minutes of action. At the 10:39 mark of the first half, Florida held just a 3-1 lead over the Owls, but sophomore Mollie Stevens netted her 22nd goal of the season off an assist from sophomore Sammi Burgess to ignite Florida's cold offense.
From there, the Gators ended the first frame scoring three more goals, including two goals by Gilroy in the last 30 seconds of the half. Florida entered halftime with a 7-2 lead.
In the second half, Florida outscored Temple, 10-1, and forced a running clock with 19 minutes left in regulation.
UF received an outstanding defensive effort from its back line as Temple managed a season-low 14 shots. Entering the contest, Temple had been averaging 10.9 goals per game, the fourth-best mark in the BIG EAST, but the Gators shutdown the Owls' attack. The three goals scored by the Owls was a season low.
Florida's defense caused eight Temple turnovers, as sophomore Taylor Bresnahan led the charge with three caused turnovers, which tied a season high.
Junior goalkeeper Mary-Sean Wilcox improved to 8-4 and recorded three saves and tied a career high with four ground balls.
Record
· Florida – 8-4, 2-0 BIG EAST
· Temple – 8-2, 0-1 BIG EAST
Series Update
· With today's win, Florida improved to 3-0 all-time vs. Temple
· This was Florida's first visit to Temple – the previous two contests were played in Gainesville
Numbers of Note
· Head coach Amanda O'Leary was a two-time All-American midfielder at Temple (1985-88) and lead the Owls to a national championship and undefeated season in 1988
· Florida has won 11-straight regular-season conference games dating back to 2013
· Senior Shannon Gilroy entered today leading the nation in goals (39) and added to her total, finishing with four scores
· Sophomore Mollie Stevens scored one goal and has now scored a goal in 16-consecutive games, four shy of tying the program mark
· Junior Carly Ross scored a season-high three goals and dished out a career-high two assists
· Junior Devon Schneider tied a season high with three goals on four shots. Schneider has scored 14 goals on 16 shots this season (.875)
· Florida fired off a season-high 40 shots
· UF held an advantage in ground balls (18-4)
Mandee's Minute
Head coach Amanda O'Leary
Overall thoughts from the game:
“I thought we played really well and had a really balanced effort today. Our defense came out there and dictated the pace of the game. Overall, I am very, very proud of our team's effort today.”
On Florida's defense holding Temple to a season-low three goals:
“We played as a team today. We knew that we needed to shut down their leading scorer Nicole Tiernan. Between Chloe O'Haire, Nicole Graziano and Caroline Fitzgerald, we accomplished that goal. We played really good team defense – we slid to double teams and had a number of caused turnovers. I thought overall it was just a really good well-played defensive game. Mary-Sean [Wilcox] and Oliva [Cole] came up with some key saves for us.”
Up Next
Florida returns to Gainesville and will continue BIG EAST play against Georgetown (1-7, 0-0) next Saturday (April 4) at noon.
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