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The Gators advance to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals after avenging last loss.

With a pass from Brianna Harris, senior Shannon Kavanagh pulled a 180 for a pop shot into the net. The Gators stood with a seven-point advantage halfway through the first and were just getting started.

The Florida lacrosse team defeated the Jacksonville Dolphins 17-3 Sunday and will move onto the third round of the NCAA Championships.

The dolphins came to Gainesville hungry and stand at a .923 season win
percentage. Jacksonville beat the Gators with a 12-11 win on March 13.

They didn’t come motivated enough to beat out Florida again, however.

As always, midfielder Shannon Kavanagh took control on the draw circle and on the offensive. The senior racked in her 17th hat trick of the season and helped Florida lead 15-7 on the draw control. But she was only a small part of the victory.

Grace Haus brought the game back to action with a forceful free position and gave Florida a 10-1 lead nine minutes left in the first.

Fans jumped out of their seats as she ran it back with five minutes in the second period after a Gators goal drought. The senior racked in two consecutive goals only two minutes later on the free position and with a overhand shot, respectively.

She had a staggering seven game goals and now has 62 seasonal goals.

Kassidy Bresnahan put her name in the mix with a quick shot to open the second half 11-2. The goal followed multiple attempts saved by Dayna Martinetto. The senior holds 24 goals for the season.

Harris revitalized the offense ten minutes into the second with a running perimeter shot against Jacksonville goaltender Dayna Martinetto eight before the senior dove to the ground.

Bringing the score 12-3, Harris added onto her heavy seasonal goal record with 47 and took home a hat trick. She also hit the 200th career-point mark with her first point of the game in the first half.

Florida’s goaltending played a vital role in its monstrous win. Sarah Reznick dominated the cage and put up a stellar .750 save percentage with nine saves and three goals allowed. Julia Hammerschlag had no time on the field.

Maeson Tydings left nothing up to chance as the defender pushed Jacksonville attacker upon attacker out of the zone and killed their shot clock with five minutes left in the first.

“We played the full 60 minutes,” said head coach Amanda O’Leary.

With 10 minutes left in the first, Trombetta hit the ground after a brutal impact by two Jacksonville players. She possibly experienced a knee injury. Amanda O’Leary had no update on the matter.

The Gators are movin’ on 👏👏#FLax #GoGators pic.twitter.com/OvB4J5QPBF

— Gators Lacrosse (@GatorsLAX) May 16, 2021

Florida will go on to play Syracuse in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Championships.

Contact Faith Buckley on her Twitter @_faithbuckley