In the Gators’ biggest win of the season, coach Amanda O’Leary was bothered.
On March 7, UF picked up its first victory against a ranked opponent as it defeated No. 15 Georgetown, 12-9, in Washington D.C. However, Florida turned the ball over a season-high 19 times in the process.
“We didn’t play well getting the ball out of our defensive end the whole game,” O’Leary said after the game. “I would love to say we made the adjustments and we were able to figure it out.”
Nearly two weeks later, the adjustments have been made, and the results have shown. The Gators have decreased their turnovers in every game since the win against the Hoyas, notching 16 against Temple, nine against Stony Brook and eight against William & Mary.
No. 4 Florida (8-2) will try to continue its recent success protecting the ball against No. 8 Dartmouth at 6:30 tonight at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
Dartmouth is UF’s first ranked opponent since Georgetown.
Junior attacker Gabi Wiegand, who had five goals against the Hoyas but also turned the ball over twice, said the Gators’ turnover issues stemmed from not only forced passes in transition but from a lack of patience on offense as well.
“The coaches talk a lot about patience,” Wiegand said. “We are so excited when we get the ball that we’re just ready to go and keep pounding it at the other team, and sometimes we shoot when we shouldn’t be.”
Eight of UF’s turnovers against Georgetown came on the defensive end. O’Leary pointed to both inaccurate passing from the defenders and a failure by the midfielders and attackers to cut back to the ball.
After Florida had just eight turnovers in a 21-8 win against William & Mary, O’Leary said the defense made great strides in its decision-making.
“Our defenders have taken a little more pride in possession of the ball,” O’Leary said. “They are eliminating attackers and not just throwing the ball up for grabs.”
O’Leary said the transition opportunities that can lead to turnovers are hard to simulate in practice because of Florida’s roster size, so each player has to take it upon themselves in games to get in position to get the ball from defenders.
She singled out Wiegand after the win against William & Mary for cutting back to the defensive end to receive passes.
“We’ve been working for each other,” junior midfielder Brittany Dashiell said. “If someone gets double-teamed there is always an outlet to help them out, and we’ve just all gotten to be better ball-handlers.”
Against the Big Green, O’Leary said the Gators will have to play cleanly in transition because Dartmouth has the athletic ability to take advantage of any mistake.
“They are very physical,” O’Leary said. “They put a stick on a body. Through transition we are really going to have to take care of the ball because they have some very fast attackers and midfielders.”
The Gators have cut down on turnovers the last two weeks after a season-high 19 against Georgetown on March 7. No. 4 UF hosts No. 8 Dartmouth tonight.
