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Saturday, No. 11 Syracuse constantly shadowed No. 10 Florida’s top
scoring threat, chasing Kitty Cullen all over the field.
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But as the Orange (2-4) soon found out, there’s more than one piece
to UF’s offense.
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Behind a career-high six goals by sophomore Ashley Bruns, the
Gators (8-1) scored their second win of the season over a top 15
opponent, beating Syracuse 16-11 at Donald Dizney Stadium.
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“You can’t ask for anything more from Ashley,” UF coach Amanda
O’Leary said. “She was dominant on the offensive and also on the
ride as well. Not really much more to say than she was the driving
force today.”
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the first half, Cullen was repeatedly face guarded by Orange
defenders, effectively taking her out of the game. No. 9 Georgetown
tried a similar tactic on March 9, but Cullen was still able to net
four goals.
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Syracuse’s defense proved to be more successful with the strategy,
as Orange defender Becca Block held Cullen, the nation’s leading
scorer, without a shot attempt in the first 30 minutes.
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“It wasn’t a surprise; Kitty’s been playing very well this season
so I think we knew it was going to come,” Bruns said. “We’ve been
working on ways to get her open, setting picks and screens, and it
ended up working really well today.”
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With one option out of the Gators’ arsenal, the offense centered
around Bruns, who tied a school record with her six netters, and
fellow midfielder Brittany Dashiell. The pair stepped up to the
challenge and combined for five first half goals to give their team
a 6-5 halftime lead.
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Dashiell was coming off a five goal performance against Colgate on
March 15, and continued her recent scoring hot streak by putting in
three goals by game’s end. The sophomore was also critical in
helping Florida win the possession battle, taking all the team’s
face offs and finishng tied with a game-high four draw
controls.
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“If you possess the ball, the other team can’t score,” UF coach
Amanda O’Leary said. “So for us to get those 18 draws was critical,
because we needed possession of the ball. As you can see their
attackers are such threats. If you give them an inch, the ball’s
going in the back of the net unfortunately.”
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The Gators owned the four of the first five possessions of the
second half due to Dashiell’s work at the face offs, allowing the
offense to score three goals in two minutes.
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the Orange’s defense scrambled to get set after Florida won each
control, the ball was finally worked into Cullen, who notched three
second half goals.
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“All seven of our attackers can come in and score,” Dashiell said.
“I think taking out one player isn’t going to make that big of a
difference, so we just used her and used that face guard to our
advantage.”
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With Cullen just starting to get involved, Bruns continued her
strong play well into the second half. The midfielder had a hand in
three straight goals for the Gators, scoring two and dishing out an
assist on another.
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Bruns scored her last goal with 6:24 left, which extended the
Gators’ advantage to six and stymied a late rally by Syracuse.
