Maggi Hall brings energy, excitement and exceptional play-making skills to the Gators lacrosse team. (Photo: Keith Lucas/UAA Communications)
Hall's Historic Season Has Gators on Cusp of More History
Thursday, May 23, 2024 | Lacrosse, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Gators lacrosse coach Amanda O'Leary stood before a small group of reporters and a pair of TV cameras earlier this week to discuss her team's unanticipated trip to the Final Four.
The Gators, the first unseeded team to make the national semifinals since 2017, face No. 1-seed Northwestern on Friday afternoon (3 p.m. ET on ESPNU) in Cary, N.C. The Wildcats are in the Final Four for the fifth consecutive season and are the reigning national champions. Meanwhile, the Gators are back for the first time in 12 years and have never won a national title.
As you would expect, most of O'Leary's 20-minute interview leaned heavily toward the Gators, their 20-game win streak, and the opportunity to add "lacrosse school" to UF's national identity. Still, in a brief interlude during the media session, O'Leary offered a notable dose of praise for Northwestern's prolific offensive attack.
"Izzy Scane is probably the best ever to play the game,'' O'Leary said.
A fifth-year senior, Scane is the NCAA's all-time goals leader with 367 in 82 career games, or 4.5 each time she steps onto the field. She has ample help from fellow attackers Madison Taylor and Erin Coykendall, all three of whom were named first-team All-American by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association.
Florida's defense and goalkeeper Elyse Finnelle will undoubtedly be tested against the high-powered Wildcats, but the Gators have their All-American attacker in senior Maggi Hall.
"She's in that league for sure,'' O'Leary said.
Gators senior attacker Maggi Hall has a program-record 114 points this season. (Photo: Keith Lucas/UAA Communications)
A native of Bel Air, Md., Hall is coming off the most meaningful game of her career, scoring a career-high-tying six goals in Florida's Elite Eight win at Maryland with her family and friends soaking in the moment. The Gators erupted for a 9-0 lead as Hall and her teammates struck early and often.
"Going up 9-0 against that good of a team was an incredible feeling,'' Hall said. "I think it has really boosted our confidence."
Hall's performance against the Terrapins came six days after the Gators defeated North Carolina in their NCAA Tournament opener, with Hall scoring three times and ending the career of her older sister, Tar Heels graduate defender Gabi Hall.
Hall shed tears afterward while embracing Gabi, but she smiled two days later when the Gators defeated Virginia in the second round with the help of her two goals and three assists. Hall's record-breaking season includes a program-record 114 points on 60 goals and 54 assists entering Friday's game against Northwestern.
"She brings a lot of energy," O'Leary said. "She is kind of our engine that makes us go. She is going to bring a lot of celebratory excitement."
Hall is the youngest of three sisters. She split her time between lacrosse and basketball as a standout at Bel Air (Md.) High. She weaves through traffic on the lacrosse field like a basketball player shimmies to the basket. Still, lacrosse offered the most opportunities and a sport she started playing when she was 4.
Never more than her final one at UF.
Maggi Hall and her older sister Gabi Hall embrace following Florida's win over North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament. (Photo: Keith Lucas/UAA Communications)
"It is a really, really fun season," Hall said. "I think you can see it in my face most of the time [in game photos]. I get comments about it all the time. It's so fun, and you're so into it, and your adrenaline is pumping. It really is that fun. The way it looks is the way it is."
Hall and teammate Danielle Pavinelli form a decisive 1-2 punch for the Gators. Pavinelli is second on the team in points (93), goals (54) and assists (39). Despite recent accolades starting to pile up, Hall is reluctant to accept too much credit for what the Gators have done.
That's the way she is, O'Leary said.
"The records that she is setting – and she'll be the first to tell you, she could care less about the records – if our team wins, that's all she cares about," O'Leary said. "Super humble. When Maggi came here as a freshman, we knew she was special. To see her confidence, I think what she is doing this year is unprecedented.
"I think for us it's really important that she has those players around her as well, so if she gets shut off, she is always willing to share the ball and find her free teammates."
Hall entered the season extra motivated following an early exit from last season's NCAA Tournament. Unlike her sister, who had an additional season of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hall arrived at UF in 2021 and has played regularly from the beginning.
She is nearing the finish line and can't imagine a better group to be sharing the Gators' magical journey back to the Final Four after so long away.
She isn't ready for the trip to end.
"I don't know what it is about this year and this team, but I feel we all just bought into what we were doing,'' Hall said. "We know a lot about each other and how we play. Yes, I've had an amazing season, but Pav is barely a few points behind me. It's not about individual successes. It's about how we work together.
"Not to sound cocky or anything – I don't want it to sound that way – but I am very confident in this group of girls. I'm confident in our coaching staff. I'm not scared for this weekend."
