The last time No. 4 Florida lacrosse went head-to-head with an opponent, it had 13 seniors and shared an American Lacrosse Conference title.
Saturday’s matchup against No. 1 North Carolina will be a much different picture than the team’s final game of the 2013 season. With only two seniors and 11 freshmen, Florida is starting the season with a young team, leaving it to find a new identity that doesn’t include Florida’s first-generation lacrosse class.
Coach Amanda O’Leary does not think the team will struggle from the inexperience because of the leadership of older players, specifically seniors Cara Canington and Krista Grabher.
“[They] have done an amazing job with our team cohesion and team bonding,” O’Leary said. “We have really come together.”
In Florida’s game against North Carolina on Feb. 9, 2013, the Gators came back from a 3-1 deficit at halftime to defeat UNC 5-3. It marked the first time during the season that UF completed a come-from-behind win and the first time in four meetings that Florida beat North Carolina.
With the first game of the season at UNC combined with a young team, UF has a steep hill to climb in their first matchup of the season.
The Tar Heels, who are the reigning national champions after finishing last season with an 18-3 season and a 4-1 record in Atlantic Coast Conference play, will be a tough test for Florida’s opener, but O’Leary believes the inexperienced team will impress early on the road.
“I think the challenges are we’re going to hit the road with a young team again and so it’s always a challenge, being on the road,” O’Leary said. “I think they’ve worked hard and we’re going to go into that game with a lot of confidence.”
Having junior All-American Shannon Gilroy, junior midfielder Nora Berry and seniors Canington and Grabher to help lead the starting freshmen through their first college matchup will be advantageous to the team.
“I think our freshmen are a talented group of young women,” O’Leary said. “They came in here highly-touted. We knew we needed them to step in immediately. They didn’t have time to adjust to college lacrosse. We threw them right in there, and they’ve responded.”
However young the team is, O’Leary noted that inexperience would not be the team’s biggest challenge but rather working as one cohesive group.
“I think team chemistry is a big part of our success,” O’Leary said. “So we preach a lot about that.”
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Florida lacrosse coach Amanda O’Leary (left) was pleased with the way her bench performed in its 18-6 victory over Marquette on Saturday. "It is... good to see some players who typically don't get in and see what they can do,” O'Leary said.
