MILWAUKEE, Wis. – With the temperature hovering in the mid-30's and 11 mile-per-hour wind gusts, the No. 8 Gators defeated Marquette, 16-5, at Valley Fields on Wednesday afternoon. The win improved the Gators (10-4) to 4-0 in the BIG EAST with three games remaining in the regular season.
Despite the frigid playing conditions, Florida got things rolling early after senior Shannon Gilroy fed a pass to junior Devon Schneider for the game's first goal, just 48 seconds into the half.
Over the next 11 minutes of play, Florida turnovers allowed Marquette to keep the game close and the Golden Eagles had the score tied, 3-3, at the 18:57 mark in the first half.
Gilroy and the Gators got things going after Marquette evened the score. The senior All-American tallied her first goal of the game to start a 5-0 run to end the first half. Florida held the Golden Eagles scoreless for the final 18:57 of the first half and entered halftime with an 8-3 advantage.
Florida exited halftime and put the game away, gaining a 10-goal advantage with 10:02 remaining in regulation.
The UF defense continued its stingy ways, allowing just five goals and forcing 10 Marquette turnovers.
Gilroy led the all Gator scorers with four goals and finished with five points. In all, five Gators scored in double-figures.
Junior goalkeeper Mary-Sean Wilcox tied a season high with nine stops, including five free-position shots, and improved to 10-4 in cage.
Record
- Florida – 10-4, 4-0 BIG EAST
- Marquette – 4-9, 0-2 BIG EAST
Series Update
- Today's game between the Gators and Golden Eagles was the first meeting between the two schools
Numbers of Note
- Florida has won 13-straight regular-season conference games dating back to 2013
- In four conference games, Florida has outscored its opponents, 70-22
- Senior Shannon Gilroy netted four goals and now has 234 in her career, which ranks tied for 14th all-time in NCAA Division I history
- Gilroy has scored five or more points in every BIG EAST game this season, totaling 27 points, 20 goals and seven assists
- Gilroy entered today's game leading the nation in points and ranking second in goals. She now has 70 points and 52 goals in 2015
- Sophomore Mollie Stevens scored two goals and has now scored a goal in 18-consecutive games, three shy of tying the program mark held by Ashley Bruns
- Sophomore Caroline Fitzgerald scored her first-career goal off a free-position shot at the 21:33 mark in the second half. Prior to that goal, the defender had gone 34 games without attempting a shot
- Fitzgerald finished the game with two goals, two ground balls and one draw control
- Junior Devon Schneider netted three goals on three shots. Schneider has scored 19 goals on 21 shots this season (.904)
- Junior Mary-Sean Wilcox tied a season high with nine saves. Over the last two games, she has 16 stops
- Junior Sydney DuPre tied a career high by causing three turnovers, while adding two ground balls and three draw controls
Mandee's Minute
Head coach Amanda O'Leary
Overall thoughts from the game:
“I thought Marquette came out and really put us on our heels. They came out in the first half and competed. In the second half, we came out a lot harder. We competed for ground balls and did the little things we needed to do to be successful. Lots of credit to Marquette for coming out of the blocks hard and competing.”
On the play of Mary-Sean Wilcox:
“Mary-Sean I thought did a tremendous job in goal. I thought she started out kind of slow, but really turned it on and made some critical saves throughout the game.”
On Caroline Fitzgerald playing the midfield at the end of the second half:
“We needed to do a better job defensively, so we put Caroline Fitzgerald into the midfield to solidify that defensive end a little more. Not only did she come up with some big stops, but she scored two goals for us. She did a great job filling a position that she wasn't used to playing, but she stepped up and did what we asked her to do.”
On the intensity in the second half:
“Defensively in the second half, I thought Angela Flister and Aniya Flanagan came off the bench and gave us a boost and helped us get some big stops, especially some 1-v-1 and some double team stops. I was really pleased with their play.”
Up Next
Florida returns to action on Saturday (April 11) against Villanova (7-4, 2-0 BIG EAST) at Donald R. Dizney Stadium at 1 p.m. The game will be Senior Day and three seniors will be honored.
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