GREENVILLE, North Carolina –Tournament Most Outstanding Player Danielle Pavinelli scored six goals and had an assist as Florida won its third straight American Athletic Conference title with an 18-7 win against Vanderbilt Saturday at Johnson Stadium.
 
Pavinelli, who had a goal and an assist in the Gators’ 18-7 win against East Carolina Thursday, broke open what had been a close game with four second-half goals to improve Florida to 26-0 against American Athletic Conference teams (regular season and postseason) since 2019.
 
Florida (15-4), ranked No. 8 in the IWLCA/Inside Lacrosse poll and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, earned The American’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. Florida will take a 13-game winning streak into the postseason.
 
Florida broke a 3-3 tie with five seconds left in the first quarter when Emily Heller scored the first of her four goals on a free position shot to give the Gators the lead for good.
 
Heller’s goal sparked a 5-0 Florida run as Pavinelli cashed in a feed from Ashley Gonzalez to make it 5-3 early in the second quarter, Emma LoPinto scored her 56th goal of the season nearly three minutes later, and defender Catherine Moriarty scored in transition to give the Gators a 7-3 advantage. Shelton Sawers made it 8-3 to complete the run when she finished a pass from Emerson Cabrera with 3:47 left before halftime.
 
The Gators broke it open with the first three goals of the third quarter to build a 12-4 lead, and Pavinelli had two goals as part of Florida’s 3-0 run to start the fourth quarter and make it 15-5.
 
Florida held a 45-20 advantage in shots and 19-9 edge in draw controls.
 
Florida placed seven players on the all-tournament team, led by Pavinelli, who improved her season totals to 63 goals and 24 assists for 87 points.
 
Heller had four goals and an assist with three draw controls, while LoPinto and Gonzalez had two goals each. Goalie Sarah Reznick made nine saves and allowed six goals in 54:32 to pick up the win.
 
Vanderbilt was led by goalie Paige Gunning, who earned all-tournament status after she tied The American’s single-game record, and shattered her own tournament record, with 20 saves in 55:01. Gunning, who made 11 stops in the Commodores’ semifinal win against Temple, was joined on the all-tournament team by attack Gabby Fornia and defender Melissa Hawkins.
 
East Carolina midfielder Frances Kimel and Temple midfielder Belle Mastropietro were also named to the all-tournament team.
 
 
Most Outstanding Player
Danielle Pavinelli, A, Florida
 
All-Tournament Team
Frances Kimel, M, East Carolina
Ashley Gonzalez, A, Florida
Maggi Hall, A, Florida
Emily Heller, M, Florida
Emma LoPinto, A, Florida
Catherine Moriarty, D, Florida
Danielle Pavinelli, A, Florida
Sarah Reznick, G, Florida
Belle Mastropietro, M, Temple
Paige Gunning, G, Vanderbilt
Gabby Fornia, A, Vanderbilt
Melissa Hawkins, D, Vanderbilt