No. 7 Florida and East Carolina came away with Sunday-afternoon victories as the Gators handled Arizona State and the Pirates took care of Wofford to continue the best start in program history.
NO. 7 FLORIDA 17, ARIZONA STATE 12
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 7 Florida lacrosse team topped the Arizona State Sun Devils 17-12 on Sunday afternoon at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
The Gators improve to 3-2 on the year, while the Sun Devils fall to 1-4 in the 2023 campaign.
Florida was led on the offensive front by a three-goal performance from both Emily Heller and Maggi Hall. Danielle Pavinelli, Emma LoPinto and Ava Tighe each found the back of the cage twice, while five Gators scored once on Sunday afternoon: Ashley Gonzalez, Madison Waters, Tayler Warehime, Josie Hahn and Gianna Monaco.
Paisley Eagan and Gonzalez each dished out a team-high three assists, while Emerson Cabrera, Madison Waters and Warehime dished out one helper apiece.
Florida won 19 draw controls on the afternoon, with Emily Diaz posting a team-high four. Liz Harrison, Shelton Sawers and Heller each tallied three draws on the day to follow Diaz.
The Gators caused eight turnovers in the victory, with Becky Browndorf leading the defensive effort with three and Catherine Flaherty following closely behind with two.
Heller posted a team-high three groundballs, while Florida registered two apiece from Flaherty, Warehime, Gonzalez, Madison Waters and Sarah Reznick.
Between the pipes, Sarah Reznick tallied 11 saves with a .500 save percentage during her 58 minutes of play.
The Gators are back in action on Saturday, March 11 when the team plays host to No. 8 Loyola. Opening draw is slated for 12 p.m. at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
EAST CAROLINA 15, WOFFORD 4
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The East Carolina lacrosse team defeated the Wofford Terriers, 15-4, on Sunday afternoon in Gibbs Stadium. The win moves the Pirates to 6-1, the best start to a season in program history.
Despite the score, it was Wofford (0-4) who struck first, holding a 1-0 lead until the 3:44 mark of the first quarter when Emily Stratton scored the first of two goals in quick succession for the Pirates. Ellie Bromley had the other.
From there, ECU took charge, scoring six of the next seven goals – scored by five different players. Regina Di Chiara was the lone Pirate to register multiple second-quarter goals, the first two of the period.
In the third quarter, Erin Gulden notched a second to join Di Chiara in scoring multiple goals. Frances Kimel had the other goal as the team took a seven-goal margin into the final period.
Ending in that third quarter, the Pirates forced a 21 minute, 35 second scoring drought between the Terriers second and third goals. In that time, ECU scored six of their own to push the margin from one to seven.
Bromley added her second to open the final quarter before Camryn Pennypacker joined the party with her second. Leah Bestany scored a second as well as the Pirates earned a running clock with just over eight minutes to play before Kimel scored again to go with her four assists, bringing her total to six points on the day.
Brynn Knight continued a run of fantastic play in goal for the Pirates, allowing only four goals with nine saves for a save percentage of .692. Draws were fairly even on the day but ECU did take the final margin 12-11 while causing 10 turnovers to Wofford's three CTs.
In total nine players scored goals for East Carolina on Sunday with six scoring two.