It’s not often that a team can lose a game and rise in the national rankings. However, Florida did just that after a hard fought resilient outing against #1 Maryland on Saturday.

Florida found themselves trailing by seven in the waning minutes of a controversially officiated game, but managed a 5-0 run to close the game, falling 16-14. Even head coach Amanda O’Leary stated, “we just ran out of time.”

Due to the showing, the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association voted Florida to a #3 national ranking. Florida was #5 in last week’s poll. The Gators are the only team in the Top-5 with a loss.

IWLCA Top-10 (2/19/18)

1. Maryland (2-0)
2. Stony Brook (1-0)
3. Florida (1-1)
4. Syracuse (2-0)
5. Boston College (3-0)
6. Southern Cal (1-1)
7. North Carolina (2-1)
8. James Madison (3-0)
9. Princeton (1-0)
10. Navy (2-0)

The Gators will be back in action Sunday February 25 against #23 Loyola.

*Information for this article was provided by the official UF lacrosse press release.