FINAL: FLORIDA 17, LOYOLA 16 (OT)
| 1st | 2nd | OT | FINAL | |
| LOYOLA | 8 | 9 | 0 | 16 |
| GATORS | 7 | 9 | 1 | 17 |
Gainesville, FL – The #3 Florida Gators defeated the #23 Loyola Greyhounds on Sunday in one of the most exciting contests to have taken place at Dizney Stadium.
Florida trailed by as many four goals in the second half, but a furious rally put Florida on top 13-12 with just over twelve minutes to play in regulation. The teams traded goals until Loyola tooka 15-14 lead with 4:46 left in regulation and added another with only 2:27 to go.
The Gators fought back and with just under two minutes to play as junior Lindsey Ronbeck scored an unassisted goal. Sophomore Madisyn Kittell completed the comeback bid with an incredible effort in the final minute and a half as she forced Loyola into two turnovers and found the back of the net with just 1:12 to play to send the game to overtime.
In overtime, Florida controlled the draw and immediately called a timeout. Senior Shayna Pirreca was isolated and drove toward the Loyola net. Pirreca’s shot found the netting to give Florida a thrilling overtime victory.
Freshman Shannon Kavanagh and Ronbeck led the Gators with four goals each while Caroline Benitez, Kittell, Shayna Pirreca, and Sydney Pirreca each added two goals to the Gators cause.
Florida will face Jacksonville at 7:00 PM on Wednesday from Dizney Stadium.
Team Stats:
| LOYOLA | GATORS | |
| SHOTS | 29 | 38 |
| SOG | 26 | 27 |
| SAVES | 10 | 10 |
| DRAW CONTROLS | 19 | 16 |
| TURNOVERS | 23 | 14 |
What’s Next:
Florida will face Jacksonville from Dizney Stadium Wednesday night. The Dolphins are 2-1 on the season with wins over Michigan and Ohio State. The opening draw is set for 7:00 PM.
It’s been a pretty good weekend for Florida sports, I think! 🙂
Haha I saw the part about Jacksonville beating Michigan and immediately thought of Urban Meyer- he doesn’t say that word. I’ve met him before and purposely said it just to mess with him, and he looked at me and said, “If you say that word again, you’re doing push ups. They are the Team Up North!” He’s one of the kindest people I know!! (And I had fun surprising him with how much I know about Florida football 😊)
[…] tied a Florida freshman record with 8 draw controls in Florida’s thrilling victory over #23 Loyola on […]