Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — You get the impression that if Elyse Finnelle had to defend the goal without a stick, unprotected by pads or a helmet, she would gladly take her place in front of the net for the Gators lacrosse team.

Finnelle's toughness has never been in question, a big round bruise on her left thigh and one on her right arm served as evidence this week as she discussed Florida's NCAA Tournament game at Maryland on Thursday for a berth in the Final Four.

No pain, no gain in her world.

"You have to be physically tough. You have to be mentally tough,'' Gators coach Amanda O'Leary said of playing goalkeeper. "That's Elyse. She's not a flashy goalie, but she's going to stand in there, and she's going to make saves because she's got super-quick hands, and she is willing to stand there and react."

Finnelle is resilient, too.

The first time the Gators faced the Terrapins, a 13-12 overtime win in the third game of the season on Feb. 24, third-year sophomore Finnelle watched the final 40 minutes from the sideline, replaced by Georgia Hoey with the Gators down 7-2. Finnelle's return to her native Maryland did not go as expected.

Her parents, Megan and Sean, were at the game, as were many of her friends from Deale, Md., a former fishing town on the Chesapeake Bay located 50 miles southeast of College Park.

She took the field eager to put back-to-back losses behind her and help the Gators get their first win of the young season. But after Finnelle surrendered seven goals against only two saves, O'Leary turned to Hoey to calm the storm. The move worked as Florida came back to defeat the 14-time national champion Terrapins for only the second time in 10 all-time meetings.

Nearly three months later – and riding a hot streak that has the Gators one victory from their first Final Four in 12 years – Finnelle can reflect on the forgettable performance with the perspective of someone who refused to let the moment define her season.

"I was very disappointed in myself that I kind of let my team down in the beginning, but I was also very proud of my team that they were able to adjust,'' Finnelle said. "I'm just very grateful for all of them for just kind of taking it upon themselves and win that game. And to kind of clean up my mess."
 

Instead of sulking, Finnelle sought advice from assistant coach Regy Thorpe, who reminded her that "nothing's permanent."

The Gators took off that night at Maryland and haven't landed since, winning a program-record 19 consecutive matches entering Thursday's NCAA Tournament quarterfinal. Hoey played a crucial role, but when a hip injury flared up, O'Leary turned back to Finnelle.

She has not disappointed, winning eight consecutive starts and stopping 14 shots against North Carolina in Florida's first win of the NCAA Tournament. Two days later, Finnelle clamped down in the second half in the Gators' 13-8 victory over Virginia.

Finnelle enters Thursday's game ranked third in Division I in save percentage (54.1 percent) and eighth in goals-against average (8.68). She was named American Athletic Conference Goalkeeper of the Year and an honorable mention All-American by USA Lacrosse.

Finnelle soared onto O'Leary's radar as an eighth-grader, and she continued to watch her closely as Finnelle starred at South (Md.) High and as a member of the M&D Lacrosse Club. Finnelle's feistiness, work ethic and short memory were apparent.

"That was one of the things that drew us to her,'' O'Leary said. "If she has a bad drill … she's just so resilient. She'll just come back the next day more eager to prove herself worthy. That just goes a long way. I can't say enough about how she's anchored our defense."

Finnelle said that's how she grew up in Deale, a blue-collar town located off the Maryland shore in Anne Arundel County, about 35 miles east of Washington, D.C. Her parents grew up in the area and played sports. Her father, Sean, coached her when she was younger, and both her younger sisters, Elaina and Everleigh, play lacrosse.

She decided to play goalie when she realized she could get out of a mile run that her club team did before practice. She credits her high school coach, Arvak Marshall, with helping her develop the hand-eye coordination so important to her craft.

"He focused a lot on how, like, your eye muscles work, how different parts of your brain work and how they all work together,'' she said. "And then how does your brain work with your eyes to work with your hands? We played card games, we played, just like, different memory games like I would say a lot of old people play. It sounds weird. So, he did a lot of that type of training and everything, which I really think is the biggest difference in my game because I carried that to here."

The methods are working, and with one more victory, the Gators will be in the Final Four.

First, Finnelle would like to send her family and friends home Thursday with a better memory than the last time they came to see her play at Maryland.

"They'll definitely be there,'' she said. "I know my sisters are getting out of school early for this game. They all kind of know to just wait 'til the season is over to talk about everything. This team is very special. Those first two games were like real stingers for us. We knew we should have won them.

"I think we were just so pissed off that, like, we had no respect from the world, and no respect from the lacrosse world. We were like, 'We want to be respected this season. Let's just prove people wrong.' I think that's what we have had in mind all season."

Finnelle is at the front of the line.