The Gators didn’t look like a team that was missing much.
In consecutive games, they handled Fresno State in a shutout and defeated 10th-ranked Penn State 20-11.
But they won those games playing without arguably the most important player on their roster: Kitty Cullen.
In her two games since returning from a concussion suffered at Ohio State on March 24, the junior attacker has not showed any lingering effects, scoring a combined nine goals in wins over Johns Hopkins and Vanderbilt.
Even though Cullen missed two games recovering from the head injury, she believes the time off helped her in other ways.
“With being out, I was able to get like a break for my body and everything,” Cullen said. “I just came back even more excited since I had been out.”
The Gators will look for Cullen to continue her dominant play when No. 4 UF visits top-ranked, undefeated Northwestern on Saturday for the American Lacrosse Conference regular-season championship.
Coach Amanda O’Leary said much of Cullen’s success in the last two games can be attributed to improved shot selection. Prior to her concussion, Cullen found the back of the net on 39.7 percent of her of shots. In the last two games, she has scored nine goals on 16 shots, a success rate of 56.3 percent.
“When she actually thinks about her shot, she can be unstoppable,” O’Leary said. “When Kitty runs into trouble is when she doesn’t think about her shot, and she just throws it at the net.”
The increased attention Cullen has received from opposing defenses this season has led to a drop in her goal-scoring rate but a significant increase in her assist totals from 2011.
Through the first 14 games of the 2011 season, Cullen had recorded 67 goals and 6 assists. This year, she is second on the team in scoring with 38 goals and is tied for the team lead with 20 assists through as many games.
“Kitty is always going to attract your opponent’s best defender,” O’Leary said. “It allows some of the other defenders to get the second, third, fourth defender down the line.”
The Wildcats like to play a high-pressure defense that quickly double teams whichever attacker has the ball. Thus, Cullen’s ability to quickly decide whether or not to beat the trap or find an open teammate will be vital to the Gators’ success on Saturday.
“I am getting doubled really early, sometimes even triple teamed earlier than I was last year, so we’re able to find more people who are open and wide-open goals,” Cullen said.
Fellow junior attacker Ashley Bruns said having Cullen back on the field has provided the team with a much-needed emotional lift.
“It makes us so much more confident as a whole,” said Bruns. “I don’t think any defender can stop Kitty.”
Florida attacker Kitty Cullen takes a shot against Vanderbilt on April 14. Cullen has scored nine goals since returning from a concussion.
