Florida has come away with three L’s in its last three contests. On Wednesday, the tides turned in a positive direction for coach Amanda O’Leary and the Gators.
No. 13 Florida (3-4) defeated No. 3 Syracuse (6-2) in a strong showing for the Gators on both sides of the ball. UF notched 14 goals while holding ‘Cuse to a .328 shooting percentage and a season-low 10 goals.
Danielle Pavinelli continued her hot streak on offense this season, leading the team with four goals, and freshman Emma LoPinto put up a stellar all-around performance with two goals and four assists. The strong offensive output helped the Gators come out to a 6-0 lead in the first half.
Syracuse only managed one goal in the first quarter to the credit of Florida’s defense. The Gators forced eleven turnovers including four forced by Emma Wrightman. Sarah Reznik put up 11 saves and saved over 50% of the shots taken.
‘Cuse put up an admirable effort to get back in the game, outscoring the Gators 4-1 in the final frame, but to no avail. Florida exited the field with a top-three win on their resume. After a rough patch to start the season, a win like this should help bring some juice to O’Leary’s squad with AAC play just four games away.
“This was a total team win and it was great to see how much energy the team came to play with tonight.” O’Leary said.
Next up for the Gators is Drexel. The Dragons are unranked but did receive votes to be included in the polls thanks to their resume which includes a ranked win. First draw is set for Sunday, March 20 at 11 a.m.