NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In a game that was delayed for two hours and 10 minutes before first draw, the No. 9 Florida lacrosse team (17-2, 6-0 AAC) defeated No. 18 and two-seeded James Madison (13-5, 5-1 AAC) by a score of 21-11 in the AAC Tournament Championship on Saturday. It is the Gators 10th consecutive conference tournament championship, and their 11th one overall.
The Gators went wire-to-wire in this one, never trailing and only being tied once. An
Emily Heller goal 46 seconds into the contest set the tone for Florida's 13th double digit victory of the season.
Four different Gators recorded a hat-trick for the first time since April 18, 2021. UF was led by
Maggi Hall, who totaled seven points on five goals and two assists, putting all 10 of her shots on target. Hall was named Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament, after posting nine goals and five assists on 9-15 shooting in the two games of this tournament. She now has four games this season with five goals, and has recorded seven points each in her last three contests.
Ashley Gonzalez (four goals, two assists),
Danielle Pavinelli (three goals, three assists), and
Emily Heller (four goals) accounted for 11 of the teams 21 goals, and five of the teams 11 assists. All three were named to the All-Tournament Team, along with
Kaitlyn Davies, Elyse FInnelle and
Liz Harrison.
Gabbi Koury recorded her first multi-goal game of her career, posting two goals on the afternoon.
Gianna Monaco,
Paisley Eagan and
Madison Waters each scored one goal, to give the Gators their ninth 20-goal game this season.
UF won the assist battle 11-4, good for their 11th double-digit assist game of the year.
Josie Hahn recorded her first assist of the season, paired with three from Pavinelli, two each from Hall, Gonzalez and Monaco, along with one from Eagan.
UF had a major advantage on the eight-meter circle, converting on six of 11 opportunities compared to James Madison who scored on just one of four attempts. The Gators won the draw control battle 21-15, as Harrison led the way with seven on the afternoon. Emily and
Hannah Heller combined for nine, helping UF outdraw the Dukes 10-5 in the second half.
Finnelle earned her sixth win of the season, saving 12 shots in the victory. It was her fifth double-digit save game of the season, holding the Dukes to 25% on free-position opportunities.
How It Happened
- Off a Harrison won draw control, the Gators converted on their first possession of the game, as Pavinelli fed Heller who inched in for the score at the 14:14 mark. Florida took a 1-0 lead.
- At the 11:54 point, the Gators struck again, with Heller drawing shooting space and converting on the free position opportunity to make it 2-0.
- James Madison got on the board 42 seconds later off a Katelyn Morgan player up goal to cut the Gators lead to one.
- Following two Finnelle saves, and a shot from each team off the post, Monaco found Gonzalez who hit the ball in the net in one motion, to put UF up 3-1 with 6:04 left.
- Following a Dukes score, Florida answered with two goals in the final 1:39 of the quarter. Gonzalez found Pavinelli whose shot trickled by the keeper, before Eagan connected on an eight-meter shot to make it 5-2 after one.
Second Quarter
- James Madison scored first, but with 9:49 left Hall found Gonzalez lurking around the crease who placed the ball into the cage to keep the lead at three.
- After three James Madison goals in a 98 second span to tie the game, Koury put the Gators back in front on a dodge to her left for the southpaw finish to put UF up 7-6 with 6:27 left.
- UF tacked on two more goals in a 23 second timespan, one from Hall off a free position shot, and one from Monaco off an assist from Hall to push the lead back to three at the 5:41 mark.
- Following two Dukes scores, the Gators scored two of their own in only 15 seconds, as Gonzalez dished to Hall on a free-position opportunity (35 seconds left), then Pavinelli fed a cutting Waters with 20 seconds left to give UF an 11-8 lead going into half.
Third Quarter
- Heller kicked off the half again, scoring 48 seconds into the quarter off a silky unassisted back hand finish for her fifth hat-trick of the season. Florida had a four-goal advantage.
- The Dukes cut the lead to three with 12:37 left, but the Gators ended the quarter on a 3-0 run in the final 9:21, with the first two coming from Hall, and the third scored by Heller off an assist from Pavinelli. The Gators led 15-9 after three.
Fourth Quarter
- Following an Isabella Peterson score, Hall scored her fifth goal of the game off a rebound off her initial shot to make it 16-10.
- At the 9:44 point, Hahn got her first assist of the season on a lofted pass towards the goal to Gonzalez who scored her third goal of the game. It was 17-11 Gators.
- The Gators ended the game on a 4-0 burst in the final 8:20 of the game. Gonzalez (8:20), Pavinelli (4:16), Koury (3:03), and another from Pavinelli with 1:47 remaining put the nail in the coffin, as the Gators won their conference tournament for the 10th consecutive season by a score of 21-11.
Coach O'Leary's Insight
"This game was an outstanding all-around team win! Every person was bought in from the sideline to the starters. Championship games like this call for full team efforts where every player is willing to put "we" over "me" and that's exactly what happened today.
Huge shout out to our sideline today. Their energy was contagious and was felt throughout the entire game. James Madison is an excellent team, so this is a wonderful momentum builder going into the NCAA tournament.
It's definitely a bittersweet goodbye to the AAC. We have so many amazing memories being apart of this outstanding conference, but we are excited to start some big and new adventures in the Big 12."
Key Notes
- This is Florida's fifth AAC Conference Tournament Championship, with it being their 10th straight and 11th overall
- 21 goals in a game is an AAC Tournament Record
- This is the first time four Gators have recorded a hat-trick in the same game since April 18, 2021
- Pavinelli moved into fifth all-time in assists and fourth all-time in points in program history
Season/Career Highs
Hannah Heller – season high four draw controls
Josie Hahn – season high one assist
Emily Heller – season high five draw controls
Gabbi Koury – career high two goals
Active Streaks (eight games or better)
Next Up
The No. 9 Gators will tune into the Selection Show tomorrow night at 9 p.m. on ESPN2 to see their seeding, and matchup for the NCAA Tournament which begins on May 10.
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