Florida Lacrosse Looks to Continue Momentum vs. Penn

No. 6 Florida lacrosse is looking to elevate against Penn on Wednesday.

The Gators (4-2) faced Penn on the road last March 26 in an overtime match. Penn led 12-11 in the fourth quarter until senior midfielder Kaitlyn Davies netted in her fifth goal of the game with 13 seconds remaining. In overtime, former Gators attacker Gianna Monaco scored her third goal of the game for a 13-12 win against the Quakers.

This year’s Penn team (2-3) may have had a rocky start to the season, and this game won’t be in the City of Brotherly Love. It’ll be in Gainesville, but it’s going to be a test for the Gators, which will start Wednesday at 12 p.m. on ESPN+. They’re without Monaco, Florida’s leading goal scorer last season, who left this year’s squad for personal reasons.

The Gators are coming off a 23-9 thrashing of Mercer at the Diz, after losing 14-11 to now-No. 5 Navy.

Attacker Clark Hamilton and midfielder Boo DeWitt, Florida’s leading goal scorers with 22 and 14, respectively, led the Gators with four goals each. Davies had the most complete game with three goals and two assists. Hamilton, DeWitt and Davies were three of 11 Gators to finish in the scoring column Saturday.

It’s early, but the Gators have yet to go on a losing streak. Last year’s Big 12 champions never suffered back-to-back losses. Florida’s a dangerous team, especially when coming off a loss. The Gators are also scoring a Big 12-leading 16.50 goals per game.

Despite that, coach Amanda O’Leary saw one area to improve in a goal-filled rout against Mercer: scoring goals. 

“We’re getting really good looks at the goal cage,” O’Leary said. “We need to finish a little bit better.” 

Better finishing may be the X factor against an opponent that last year’s Gators barely beat.

Category: Big 12, Gator Sports, Gators Lacrosse