The Gators’ defenders were tired.
They were having to run more than usual to account for the free attacker that resulted from being down a defender.
After Florida received six yellow cards in its 14-5 win against Jacksonville on Feb. 15, the defense decided to make sure it would not be shorthanded that many times again.
“I don’t think it was anything we said,” coach Amanda O’Leary said. “It was our defense sitting down with our offense and really just laying down the law.”
Since the Jacksonville game, No. 4 Florida (12-2, 2-0 American Lacrosse Conference) has been able to limit reckless plays that put the team a player down for two minutes at a time.
The defenders wanted to make sure the midfielders and attackers were making an effort to not place an unnecessary burden on them.
“At a practice, the defenders came up and talked to us about it,” junior midfielder Brittany Dashiell said. “They were like, ‘We can’t get any yellow cards. It’s hard to play man-down defense. Just try your best not to swing and hold your body on redefending.’”
Both the offensive and defensive players have cleaned up their play since, and the Gators have not had more than three yellow cards in any of their last 12 games and did not have a single card in three of them.
O’Leary said that all of the players have done a better job of not swinging wildly and staying in front of attackers.
“It’s making a conscious effort to play within the rules,” O’Leary said. “We need to control ourselves and play better defense inside (the 8-meter arc) and in transition as well.”
Dashiell also said the defenders remind the offense during games to not get overly aggressive.
“If we get a yellow card, they’ll start screaming, ‘Stop swinging,’” Dashiell said. “At halftime, they’ll say it again.”
To make the players more aware of any action on the field that could result in a yellow card, the coaches have called more fouls in practice. The coaches also call out when a play could be a yellow card even if they don’t blow the whistle. Junior defender Sam Farrell said the tightly called practices have been a good way to reinforce proper technique to the defenders and discourage wildly swinging their sticks.
“That’s the main thing — just not swinging,” Farrell said. “When you’re going to double or when you’re playing on someone sometimes it’s just so tempting to swing, but in this level everyone is really good at protecting their stick so we’re just going to get a foul.”
O’Leary said it comes down to the players not making dumb decisions, and the Gators are getting the message.
“I think that’s been the key to our games lately,” junior attacker Ashley Bruns said. “To just be smart.”
Florida midfielder Nicole Graziano (16) and defender Kayla Stolins (20) attack Detroit midfielder Emily Boissonneault during a 22-3 win on Feb. 26. The Gators are striving for cleaner play as of late.
