Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – If not for a misunderstanding, Sarah Reznick probably would not be the Florida lacrosse team's goalkeeper.

The mix-up happened years before Reznick joined the Gators. Reznick played mostly soccer when her family moved from New Jersey to Long Beach, N.Y., when she was in elementary school. As the family began to develop roots in the hotbed of lacrosse that is Long Island, her dad suggested she should go out for goalie since her team needed help at the position.

"I think you should go try it,'' Robert Reznick told Sarah.

The next day at practice, Reznick volunteered to play goaltender, surprising some. No one more than her father.

"He was actually talking about soccer,'' Sarah said.

Despite her father's concerns about "those really hard balls they shoot at you" as a lacrosse goalie, Reznick was hooked after tasting success and the thrill of being the last line of defense. In those days, Reznick starred on her Police Athletic League team in Long Beach and later at Long Beach High.
 

On Saturday Reznick will be tested on a larger stage when the No. 6-seed Gators face No. 3 Syracuse for a berth in the Final Four. Reznick is a big reason why the Gators are still playing this deep into the postseason.

A redshirt freshman, Reznick leads the country in save percentage (.587) and goals-against average (5.81). Her contributions in front of the net have helped the Gators (18-2) win 15 consecutive games. They advanced by beating Mercer and Jacksonville in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

Reznick didn't face much action against overmatched Mercer, but in Florida's 17-3 win over Jacksonville – avenging one of the Gators' two losses in the regular season – Reznick recorded nine saves to limit any potential of Jacksonville getting back into the game.

"Sarah's just been playing lights out. I think our defense has so much respect for her and so much confidence in her that they know if they beat on a [one-on-one play], that she is back there and she's going to make that save,'' Gators coach Amanda O'Leary said. "I think she has also been critical in our clears. She makes really good decisions.

"She's active outside the crease as well. There's just really nothing Sarah can't do. We have a ton of confidence in her and just looking forward to what she does this weekend."

Coincidentally, the last time the Gators advanced to the Final Four, Reznick was there. In 2012 in just the program's third season, Florida suffered a controversial loss to Syracuse in overtime at Stony Brook University. By that time, Reznick was in junior high and the family was a lacrosse-loving bunch.

It was the first year that Robert took Sarah to the college game's premiere event and it became a tradition. Every year until Sarah started college, the family packed and traveled to the women's lacrosse Final Four.

This year presents a unique challenge. While Sarah and the Gators play at Syracuse on Saturday, her younger sister, Maggie, a freshman attacker at Stony Brook, is playing No. 1 North Carolina for a spot in the Final Four.

Where will her parents be?

"They're coming to Syracuse, of course,'' Sarah said. "Maggie is only a freshman, so she doesn't see a lot of playing time."

One of the first lacrosse camps Reznick attended was at Syracuse, so there are ample reminders for her and her parents of their lacrosse journey.

When Reznick reflects on where she is and how she got here, another story pops into her head. It happened when she first moved to Long Island. Her dad told one of the coaches at her school that Sarah planned to play softball as her primary sport.

The coach offered an alternative.

"On Long Island, we play lacrosse."

There was never a misunderstanding about that.