PHILADELPHIA – Emma LoPinto scored the tying and go-ahead goals in the fourth quarter as No. 2-seeded Florida outscored East Carolina 5-0 in the fourth quarter of a 12-9 win against the third-seeded Pirates Thursday night in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Women’s Lacrosse Championship at Howarth Field.
 
The Gators (15-3), who are ranked No. 8 nationally, advance to the American Athletic Conference Championship Final, where they will face top-seeded James Madison Saturday at noon ET. Florida will make its 13th consecutive appearance in its conference championship game, spanning three conferences, as the Gators look for a fourth straight American title.
 
LoPinto's diving goal in front of the crease with 7:52 left in the fourth quarter gave Florida its first lead since late in the first period as she put the Gators ahead 10-7. The sophomore had tied the game with her second goal of the evening at the 11:37 mark of the fourth quarter when she finished a feed from Maggi Hall.
 
LoPinto and Hall both finished with hat tricks as Hall started the Gator comeback with her 40th goal of the season early in the third quarter before closing out the scoring with one second left. LoPinto's coupled her two fourth-quarter goals with a first-quarter tally to finish the game with 54 goals on the year.
 
East Carolina held the lead at the end of each of the first three quarters as Sophia LoCicero's goal with one second left in the first period gave the Pirates a 4-3 lead. The teams traded goals through the second quarter as Hall capped the scoring with 16 seconds left to bring Florida within one at 7-6 heading into halftime.
 
Florida tied the game at 7-7 on Madison Waters' finish of a Hall feed early in the third quarter, but the Pirates reclaimed a two-goal lead as Emily Stratton put ECU ahead 40 seconds later before LoCicero picked up her second of the game with 2:47 left to make it 9-7.
 
Hall led all scorers with eight points as she finished with three goals and five assists for the Gators. LoPinto scored three goals, while Emily Heller had two. Sarah Reznick, The American's Goalkeeper of the Year, made 11 saves.
 
East Carolina was led by LoCicero and Camryn Pennypacker, who had two goals each. Goalie Brynn Knight made 10 saves as the Pirates fell to 10-8.