Florida Lacrosse Narrowly Advances To Second Consecutive Final Four

With the stage set at the Donald R. Dizney stadium, the Florida Gators clawed their way to their second straight Final Four.

Despite No. 15 Duke scoring the game’s last seven goals, UF remained relentless from start to finish. The four-seeded Gators (20-2) secured an 11-9 win in the NCAA quarterfinals against the Blue Devils (14-6) on Thursday afternoon.

In the opening quarter, Florida scored five goals, creating a comfortable lead early in the match.

UF redshirt freshman attacker Frannie Hahn scored the first goal to spark the 5-1 first-quarter lead. The Big 12 Freshman of the Year scored again in the second quarter and later assisted her sister, senior midfielder Josie Hahn.

UF junior attacker Gianna Monaco, the Gators’ leading goal-scorer (73), also scored two goals. Monaco was followed by sophomore midfielder Gabbi Koury, freshman attacker Clark Hamilton, and Josie Hahn’s two goals each.

By halftime, the Blue Devils were seven goals behind, fueling their momentum for a second-half comeback attempt.

Duke tallied three goals in the third quarter and four in the fourth quarter. Duke senior attacker Carly Bernstein and graduate student attacker Callie Hem spearheaded the drive, scoring two goals apiece in the second half.

However, UF redshirt junior goalkeeper Elyse Finnelle kept the net locked, preventing Duke’s comeback. Finelle, the Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Year, notched nine saves.

Florida’s victory not only advanced the team further in the NCAA Tournament but also reversed history. In 2011, the Gators fell short 13-9 to the Blue Devils in the NCAA quarterfinals.

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What’s Next

UF plays No. 1 seed North Carolina (20-0), a 19-10 winner against Princeton in the other Thursday quarterfinal, in the national semifinal at 3 p.m. May 23 (ESPNU) at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Ma. The other semi matchup has two seed Boston College (19-2) against three seed Northwestern (18-2) at 5:30 p.m. (ESPNU). The winners meet for the national title at noon Sunday, May 25  on ESPNU.