The Gators want revenge. But it won’t come easy.
In its biggest game of the season to date, No. 5 Florida (14-2, 4-0 American Lacrosse Conference) will look to upset No. 1 Northwestern (14-0, 4-0) on the road Saturday and take the conference regular-season championship for the second year in a row.
“Last time we played they did beat us, so I think there is a little bit of a revenge coming,” junior attacker Kitty Cullen said. “And last time we were there we got killed, so it’s definitely going to be a huge game.”
In 2011, Florida defeated No. 2 Northwestern in Gainesville, 13-11, to capture its first ALC regular-season championship. But the eventual-champion Wildcats evened the season series in the finals of the ALC Tournament with a 10-9 win.
Coach Amanda O’Leary said Northwestern has improved since the end of last year, when it defeated Maryland in the national championship.
“Ultimately, we have a little bit more confidence going into the game having been successful against them last year,” O’Leary said. “But they also know [Northwestern] is a totally different team… Their players are a year older, and they didn’t really lose any from last year.”
The Wildcats returned five of their top six scorers, including senior attacker and 2011 Tewaaraton Award winner Shannon Smith and 2011 IWLCA Division I Defender of the Year Taylor Thornton.
“This is a stacked team,” O’Leary said.
Northwestern prefers to play a high-pressure defense in which it double-teams whoever has the ball at any point on the field. Florida was able to take advantage of the aggressive defense in the teams’ first matchup last season, as Cullen scored six goals while consistently beating the double teams.
However, the Wildcats changed defenses in the conference tournament game.
“I was sometimes face guarded, sometimes wasn’t,” Cullen said. “They just kind of packed in a little more instead of running out at us so fast.”
O’Leary said she expects the Wildcats to come out aggressively on defense to start, but added that their ability to defend in multiple ways makes them tough to beat.
“She keeps you guessing,” O’Leary said of Northwestern coach Kelly Hiller. “She’s a fantastic coach.”
Although junior transfer Gabi Wiegand will be playing in her first game against the Wildcats, she is well aware of the magnitude of Saturday’s showdown.
“I know since Florida beat Northwestern last year it’s going to be a huge game,” Wiegand said. “Both teams look at it as a rivalry.”
While she stressed the importance of UF not getting ahead of itself and preparing one game at a time, Wiegand also said she recognized the impact beating Northwestern could have on the Gators going forward.
“It would definitely boost our confidence,” Wiegand said, “and send a message to all the other teams that we are here to win a national championship.”
