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Florida failed to advance to the Final Four after falling to the Syracuse Orange, 16-11.

Five seconds stood on the clock in the first half, Syracuse fans taunted as Florida scurried for possession and under pressure, Emily Heller ran in for a pop shot to tie the brutal game 5-5. 

Defenders checked harshly, midfielders tumbled to the ground and attackers bolted for shot attempts. 

The matchup was gruesome, to say the least.

The Gators fell short to Syracuse 16-11 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships Saturday and ended their 21-game season.

“Powerful and intimidating:” two words amongst numerous used to describe the tough Syracuse team battled by Florida in New York.

Attacker Meaghan Tyrrell challenged Florida right off the bat, however, with a free position two minutes later. Tyrrell later clawed through Florida’s defense and scored with a spin-around shot to bring the game 3-2 Syracuse.

An elated Sam Swart jumped in victory after a pop shot overhand goal to bring the score 4-2 with 12 minutes left in the first half.

Freshman Emma Ward opened the second half with a perimeter shot that just barely hit the cage and later went on to collect a whopping six goals from the game.

The attacker pushed past Becky Brownddorf for a hat trick five minutes into the second period; Ward’s seventh of the season.

Emma Tyrell, sister of Meaghan Tyrell, snuck in a shot five minutes into the second half and pushed Florida to go to timeout, as Syracuse boasted a three-point lead. 

Goaltender Sarah Reznick fell hard against Syracuse’ 28 shots on goal. Unable to catch up, Florida trailed behind Syracuse with seven saves to the Orange’s 11. Julia Hammerschlag had no time in the cage.

Syracuse took point advantage for 18.5 minutes in the first and in all of second half, but Florida didn’t step down so easily.

Brianna Harris started the game strong as she punched in a shot only 20 seconds into regulation and gathered here 48th goal of the season. 

Grace Haus pulled a strategic low-shot on the free position and broke the five-point lead Syracuse carried with 20 minutes left in gameplay.

Kavanagh made a small comeback in the halfway through second period with a pass from Person Cabrera and a low-bounce shot. Twelve minutes into the first half, the senior tied Syracuse with a clutch overhand goal. It was her fourth game of the season without a hat trick. Still, the AAC midfielder of the year finished her career with 293 points and will go down as a Gators lacrosse legend.

Senior Kassidy Bresnahan reignited Florida’s confidence 15 minutes into the second half with a forceful drive to the net that made the score 8-12. 

Ward came back shortly after with a fifth goal of her own in the game, and the Gators were down by five once again. 

It was a sticky situation, as the No. 2 team offensively and No. 3 team defensively nationwide were struggling against a fierce Syracuse roster. 

On top of such, Cara Trombetta had no appearance throughout the game as the AAC Defender of the Year suffered a knee injury against Jacksonville on May 16. Pressure weighted the back of defender Kaitlyn Dabkowski because of so, and the defense scurried to pick up the pieces. 

Still, the brought the Florida energy to the field and notched 11 goals.

The loss concludes Florida’s 2021 season, and Syracuse enters the final four as they go into championship weekend.

Contact Faith Buckley on Twitter @_faithbuckley