No. 6 Florida Faces Butler in Regular Season Finale
Friday, April 27, 2018 | Lacrosse
The Gators will honor their six seniors prior to Saturday’s Noon game
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 6 Florida Gators wrap up the 2018 regular season with a noon draw against Butler on Saturday at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
Saturday marks Senior Day for Florida and the ceremony will honor the six Gator seniors. Shayna Pirreca, Allie Pavinelli, Aniya Flanagan, Katharine Hamer, Morgan Bracken and Olivia Cole will play their final regular season game for the Orange & Blue. Be sure to arrive early to honor our senior leaders.
A live stream of the game will be available via YouTube with Ryan Urquhart and former Florida lacrosse alumnus Annabeth Collins on the call.
No. 6 Florida vs. Butler Live Stream
Saturday's matchup is just the second meeting between the Gators and the Bulldogs, with Florida having won last year's game, 22-2, in Indianapolis. Allie Pavinelli led the team with four points last season, racking up two goals and two assists. Shayna Pirreca, Madisyn Kittell and Lexi Bolton added three goals of their own en route to the victory.
Florida enters Saturday's tilt with a 30-game win streak against BIG EAST opponents dating back to 2015, after the Gators suffered an 11-10 setback at UConn. Since 2011, UF has posted a 49-2 regular season conference record, including a 30-1 mark in the BIG EAST.
Butler is still in the building phase of their program, as this is their second year as a team. In their inaugural 2017 season, the Bulldogs went 1-16 with their lone win against Gardner-Webb. In year two, the Bulldogs were able to earn a victory over Howard, 16-7.
Records
No. 6 Florida: 13-3 (8-0 BIG EAST)
Butler: 1-15 (0-8 BIG EAST)
Senior Day Information
On the seniors:
"Those six seniors have done so much for this program. They have continued our championship experience with leading us to the BIG EAST Championships. I am very proud of what they have accomplished both on and off the field. They have done such a fantastic job for Florida lacrosse. We are so excited to honor these seniors and there is going to be a lot of emotion out there because of how much they have done for this program."
On being BIG EAST regular season champions:
"It is a special thing – something we never take for granted. There is more parity this year in the BIG EAST, more so than any other year. It is evident in regards to the fact that Florida and Georgetown are the only two teams to have clinched a seed thus far. There are many teams vying for that third and fourth position. The championship is exciting for us – it is what we work for, it is what we do. We want to win championships and now we will look forward to winning the tournament championship and then see if we are lucky enough to make it to the NCAAs."
Scouting the Bulldogs
Butler is in its second season, having collected two wins through the first two years of its program history. Redshirt junior Haley Hallenbeck leads the team with 21 goals and freshman Ashley Guerra has 20 goals and a team-best 11 assists.
On the defensive side, junior Carly Hewitt has a team-best 19 caused turnovers and 28 groundballs. Sophomore goalie Haley Rayburn has 102 saves throughout the season and has a .402 save percentage in 547 minutes played.
A Look Around the BIG EAST
As BIG EAST play comes to a close this weekend, here is a look at the standings. The top four teams head to Gainesville on May 3 to compete in the conference tournament. Florida clinched the regular season title, as well as the top seed in the tournament after last week's win over Denver.
No. 6 Florida vs. Butler Broadcast Information
Time: 12 p.m.
Live Stream: YouTube
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Pregame Notes
Series Information
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Saturday marks Senior Day for Florida and the ceremony will honor the six Gator seniors. Shayna Pirreca, Allie Pavinelli, Aniya Flanagan, Katharine Hamer, Morgan Bracken and Olivia Cole will play their final regular season game for the Orange & Blue. Be sure to arrive early to honor our senior leaders.
A live stream of the game will be available via YouTube with Ryan Urquhart and former Florida lacrosse alumnus Annabeth Collins on the call.
No. 6 Florida vs. Butler Live Stream
Saturday's matchup is just the second meeting between the Gators and the Bulldogs, with Florida having won last year's game, 22-2, in Indianapolis. Allie Pavinelli led the team with four points last season, racking up two goals and two assists. Shayna Pirreca, Madisyn Kittell and Lexi Bolton added three goals of their own en route to the victory.
Florida enters Saturday's tilt with a 30-game win streak against BIG EAST opponents dating back to 2015, after the Gators suffered an 11-10 setback at UConn. Since 2011, UF has posted a 49-2 regular season conference record, including a 30-1 mark in the BIG EAST.
Butler is still in the building phase of their program, as this is their second year as a team. In their inaugural 2017 season, the Bulldogs went 1-16 with their lone win against Gardner-Webb. In year two, the Bulldogs were able to earn a victory over Howard, 16-7.
Records
No. 6 Florida: 13-3 (8-0 BIG EAST)
Butler: 1-15 (0-8 BIG EAST)
Senior Day Information
- Be sure to arrive at Donald R. Dizney Stadium early to watch the Senior Day ceremony
- Seniors being honored: Shayna Pirreca (7), Allie Pavinelli (24), Aniya Flanagan (25), Katharine Hamer (27), Morgan Bracken (28) and Olivia Cole (35)
On the seniors:
"Those six seniors have done so much for this program. They have continued our championship experience with leading us to the BIG EAST Championships. I am very proud of what they have accomplished both on and off the field. They have done such a fantastic job for Florida lacrosse. We are so excited to honor these seniors and there is going to be a lot of emotion out there because of how much they have done for this program."
On being BIG EAST regular season champions:
"It is a special thing – something we never take for granted. There is more parity this year in the BIG EAST, more so than any other year. It is evident in regards to the fact that Florida and Georgetown are the only two teams to have clinched a seed thus far. There are many teams vying for that third and fourth position. The championship is exciting for us – it is what we work for, it is what we do. We want to win championships and now we will look forward to winning the tournament championship and then see if we are lucky enough to make it to the NCAAs."
Scouting the Bulldogs
Butler is in its second season, having collected two wins through the first two years of its program history. Redshirt junior Haley Hallenbeck leads the team with 21 goals and freshman Ashley Guerra has 20 goals and a team-best 11 assists.
On the defensive side, junior Carly Hewitt has a team-best 19 caused turnovers and 28 groundballs. Sophomore goalie Haley Rayburn has 102 saves throughout the season and has a .402 save percentage in 547 minutes played.
A Look Around the BIG EAST
As BIG EAST play comes to a close this weekend, here is a look at the standings. The top four teams head to Gainesville on May 3 to compete in the conference tournament. Florida clinched the regular season title, as well as the top seed in the tournament after last week's win over Denver.
| School | Conf. | Conf. % | Overall | Pct. | Home | Away | Neutral |
| Florida | 8-0 | 1.000 | 13-3 | .813 | 7-2 | 6-1 | 0-0 |
| Georgetown | 7-1 | .875 | 11-4 | .733 | 7-2 | 4-2 | 0-0 |
| Denver | 5-3 | .625 | 10-5 | .667 | 6-3 | 4-2 | 0-0 |
| Marquette | 5-3 | .625 | 9-7 | .563 | 7-1 | 2-6 | 0-0 |
| Temple | 4-4 | .500 | 9-7 | .563 | 5-4 | 2-2 | 0-0 |
| UConn | 4-4 | .500 | 9-7 | .563 | 4-3 | 4-4 | 0-1 |
| Villanova | 3-5 | .375 | 8-7 | .533 | 5-2 | 3-5 | 0-0 |
| Vanderbilt | 3-5 | .375 | 8-8 | .500 | 4-4 | 4-4 | 0-0 |
| Cincinnati | 1-7 | .125 | 8-7 | .467 | 4-4 | 3-4 | 0-0 |
| Butler | 0-8 | .000 | 1-15 | .063 | 0-8 | 1-7 | 0-0 |
No. 6 Florida vs. Butler Broadcast Information
Time: 12 p.m.
Live Stream: YouTube
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Pregame Notes
Series Information
- Saturday's game will be just the second meeting between Florida and Butler
- Florida leads: 1-0
- Home: 0-0 | Away: 1-0 | Neutral: 0-0
- Last Meeting: April 15, 2017 | Indianapolis, Ind. | W, 22-2
- Head Coach Amanda O'Leary won her 300th career game against Georgetown on March 24, becoming just the fifth coach in the history of DI women's lacrosse to do so.
- The Gators have won 30 consecutive games against BIG EAST opponents dating back to the 2015 season – the longest streak in school history.
- #PirrecaPower: Pirreca sisters Shayna and Sydney, have combined to score 34 percent (88-of-262) of UF's goals in 2018
- Shayna Pirreca has scored a goal in 36 consecutive games, a Florida lacrosse record. Pirreca has also tallied a point in 38 straight outings, the fourth-best mark in program history.
- Haley Hicklen has recorded a ground ball in 33 straight games, a Florida record
- Florida owns an 82-14 (.853) record all-time at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
- Aniya Flanagan sits tied for fifth all-time at Florida with 57 caused turnovers in her career.
Follow the Gators
#FLax
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