Shannon Kavanagh has emerged as one of Florida's top players during her sophomore season. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Kavanagh Has Blossomed Into All-Around Threat for Gators
Thursday, May 9, 2019 | Lacrosse, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The day she visited UF for the first time, Shannon Kavanagh did what so many teenagers do when they tour a college campus they imagine as their future home.
She stopped by the bookstore.
Kavanagh's parents, Mike and Stacey, tagged along as the youngest of their three kids looked around for something to take home to Smithtown, N.Y. As Kavanagh pulled one item after another off the racks, her dad started to become concerned.
"You want to buy all this stuff?" he said.
Kavanagh was a high school freshman, a species known to change its mind over the course of a few seconds, much less a few years. Still, she was determined that day that Florida was the school for her. She went home with a ton of Gators gear.
"She knew the minute she was there,'' Stacey Kavanagh said.
Five years later, Kavanagh is a sophomore standout for the Gators lacrosse team, which faces Johns Hopkins in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon in Chapel Hill, N.C.
These are the moments Kavanagh envisioned when she decided to come to Florida, a program that has been a consistent threat in the postseason since its inception 10 years ago.
"Ever since I was little I always thought about winning a national championship,'' she said. "I'm just really excited to be back in the tournament and playing these high-intense games."
The family's inaugural trip to UF remains a fun story to share with others, but in many ways, it offers a deeper understanding of Kavanagh, the American Athletic Conference Midfielder of the Year.
When she puts her mind to something, she rarely fails. Stacey has another story. The Kavanaghs exposed their kids – Shannon's sister Taylor and brother Michael – to an array of activities as they grew up on Long Island.
They introduced Shannon to lacrosse when she was in kindergarten. The league was supposed to be for first-graders, but due to a mistake in the advertisement, the league received interest from parents with younger kids and consented to allow them to join. Shannon embraced the sport and afterward had little interest in the ballet and tap classes Stacey enrolled her in.
"Shannon was the super-duper athlete,'' Stacey said. "She just had a knack for it."
Gators midfielder Shannon Kavanagh shows off her athleticism and determination with a leap and grab during last weekend's victory over Cincinnati for the American Athletic Conference title. (Photo: Nick Brown/For UAA Communications)
Gators coach Amanda O'Leary could see that when she first watched Kavanagh play as an eighth-grader on the Smithtown East High varsity. Kavanagh was younger than her teammates, but she played with a purpose and flashed the skills of a young college prospect.
O'Leary kept tabs on Kavanagh and was delighted when she committed to UF early in her prep career. Kavanagh has been good from the start for the Gators, scoring 36 goals and adding 28 assists in her freshman season. She has been better as a sophomore.
Kavanagh enters Friday's game against Johns Hopkins second on the team in goals (62), second in points (84), tied for first in assists (22) and first in draw controls (88). Kavanagh's presence is one opponents cannot overlook.
"She's somebody who just doesn't get a break. We don't want her off the field," O'Leary said. "There's nothing -- other than getting into the goal cage – that she hasn't done for us. She's just that All-American player. She is going to do that dirty work between the 30s."
Although Kavanagh was always one of the best athletes on whatever team she played on growing up – she played soccer and basketball at different stages – she is not one to seek the spotlight.
In fact, her mom said she tries to avoid it.
"I don't think she likes to play relaxed. She likes that pressure,'' Stacey said. "And afterward, she is just a regular kid and it's like she didn't do what she just did. The best compliment I got from other parents was how humble she is."
Still, when you always one of the best players on the field, attention is going to find you. Kavanagh deals with whatever comes her way.
Teammate Cara Trombetta, who is from Holbrook, N.Y., has known Kavanagh for several years. A year ahead of Kavanagh in school, Trombetta also grew up on Long Island and played in the same club program. In high school, they played at rival schools.
Kavanagh continues to evolve and has shown a different side than Trombetta remembered back home.
"I'm really proud of Shannon. She came in as a freshman and I don't think she was scared or timid at all just to go after it,'' Trombetta said. "I've definitely seen her take on more of a leadership role. We're really relying on Shannon a lot. It doesn't matter that she is only a sophomore."
Kavanagh lives up to her reputation when a microphone or camera is aimed her way. She's polite. She's humble. She would obviously prefer to talk about something else other than herself.
However, when she puts on her uniform and gets on the field, she becomes a force impossible to miss.
"I had a stick in my hand when I was 5 years old,'' she said. "Having fun with it has always been part of my game. The best thing we can look to do is to get better every day. Working hard in practice has definitely paid off."
Kavanagh's improvement as a sophomore led to her addition to the Tewaaraton Watch List in April, which is the top individual award in women's lacrosse. She became the third-fastest player in school history earlier this season to reach 100 career points, needing only 32 games.
The Gators would not be the NCAA Tournament without her.
"We have really high expectations of Shannon and she has delivered every single day,'' O'Leary said. "She doesn't take a day off. If she's sick, if she's hurt, she's still going to get out there and give her best. That's what Shannon is all about."
It's what she's always been about to those who know her best.
"She likes to be pushed,'' Stacey said. "She has been able to step up in those games and show what's she's got. I think she's got a lot more in the tank to show in these next two years."
