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14 true freshmen brand Florida’s young lacrosse roster as the Gators head into their 11th season this weekend with a home game against No. 18 Colorado on Feb. 8.

“We lost nine seniors, eight of which started throughout the season last year, so we’re going to see a lot of new faces out there this year, and I think that’s just super exciting for us,” coach Amanda O’Leary said. “Our seniors and our upperclassmen have done a great job of taking those underclassmen and those freshmen under their wings and just doing their thing and making sure that they understand the culture, the work ethic.”

A young squad and a clean slate have players eager to hit the field running Saturday afternoon.

“We’re really excited to get started on Saturday,” junior captain Shannon Kavanagh said. “We’ve been waiting a while for our season opener, and it’s really exciting that it’s at home this year.”

Florida — ranked No. 14 in the IWLCA Preseason Poll — are poised to win the 2020 American Athletic Conference championship, having received four more first-place votes in the AAC Preseason Poll than any other team in the conference.

Before any talk of tournaments and titles become pertinent, the Gators have a tough slate of opponents to face during the regular season. This non-conference schedule could give Florida, as a lacrosse team in the south, an opportunity to prove that it can compete with the best of the best, including those in the northeast.

“Every single one of our non-conference and conference games are huge,” Kavanagh said. “But it’s going to be even more important to come out and play strong in those [non-conference] games so that we can prove to the rest of the country that we can be competitive.”

In just the second week of play, the Gators will travel to College Park, Maryland, Feb. 15 to take on the defending national champion Terrapins, who will begin the 2020 season ranked No. 1 overall.

Florida will tussle with nine top-25 teams over the course of the season, three of which — Maryland, UNC (No. 2) and Princeton (No. 6) — are ranked in the top ten.

In the ten seasons of the program’s history, the Gators have a win percentage of .811. Under head coach Amanda O’Leary, Florida has gone 90-21 at home and received nine NCAA tournament bids.

The Gators will play 17 games before the AAC tournament with eight at home in Donald R. Dizney Stadium. Florida is scheduled to host the conference championship in Gainesville, with the semifinals on April 30 and the title game on May 2..

After last year’s tough loss in the second round, the Gators will seek redemption in the NCAA tournament this year, which will be held May 22-24.

But for now, their sights are set on Saturday’s opener. Senior captain Cara Trombetta speaks for her team when she says that she is eager for the season to start.

“Just being able to go out on Saturday and put it all out there is what we’re really most excited for.”