Coach Amanda O’Leary could not have asked her team for more during Tuesday night’s performance against Lehigh.
The second-ranked Gators (10-0) put up their best offensive and defensive performances of the season in an 18-2 blowout of the Mountain Hawks (2-4).
Florida captured momentum early by scoring seven goals in less than 9 minutes to open the contest.
UF continued its hot streak, jogging off the field at halftime with a 14-0 lead. The 14 goals were the most the Gators have scored in a half this season. Florida shut out an opponent in the first half for the second time.
"It’s a great feeling to have a shutout in that first half, but we knew we had to keep the intensity up," senior defender Sam Farrell said.
The Gators maintained their intensity despite resting Farrell and the rest of the starting lineup during the second half.
The final 30 minutes featured an entirely new lineup while all the regular starters and substitutes stood on the sideline.
"The first team came off, and the second team came in and there was no drop off, which was really great to see," O’Leary said.
Redshirt junior Erin Graziano added a goal in the second half to extend the Gators’ run to 15 straight goals before the Mountain Hawks finally answered with a goal of their own to avoid a shutout. The 15-0 run was the largest for Florida this season.
"It feels good to know that our offense can generate so many goals and so many unassisted goals," sophomore Nora Barry said.
UF achieved season-high marks with 26 points, 10 assists, 38 shots and 29 shots on goal.
"Overall, we just played our game," Barry said.
Twelve different Gators found the back of the net. Seven were freshmen.
Of the 12 freshmen on the team, 11 logged minutes on Tuesday.
O’Leary was glad the freshmen earned some game experience in the victory against Lehigh.
"They are the future.," she said.
