It was the 10 saves that kept them in the game.
Sophomore goalkeeper Mary-Sean Wilcox made the saves while junior Shannon Gilroy made the goals.
In No. 1 seed Florida’s (16-2) 11-6 win against No. 5 seed Johns Hopkins (15-3) in the American Lacrosse Conference Tournament semifinals, it was Gilroy and Wilcox that shined.
With Gilroy’s four goals and Wilcox’s 10 saves, the two helped the Gators reach their fourth consecutive ALC Tournament Championship, where they will face No. 3 seed Northwestern on Sunday at noon.
Coach Amanda O’Leary was proud of Wilcox’s performance.
“Mary-Sean (Wilcox) came up with some big saves that really affected the momentum of the game, which was to our advantage,” O’Leary said.
Even with scorers like Gilroy and freshman Sammi Burgess, who put in two goals for Florida, Wilcox proved to be a huge impact for the Gators.
Her saves were instrumental in creating momentum for the Gators.
Gilroy and Burgess took advantage of that momentum and catapulted Florida ahead with it.
Gilroy put up a total of four goals and one assist. The junior’s four-goal performance in the semifinals gave her the UF single-season record of 79 goals, while her lone draw control made her the all-time career leader for UF with 215 in her first three seasons.
However even with Gilroy’s record-breaking night, O’Leary sees room for improvement going into Florida’s final conference game Northwestern (12-5).
“I thought we did well on the offensive end,” O’Leary said. “I think there are some little things that we need to correct at both ends of the field, but overall, I thought we played a solid game. I was really pleased with our clearing; Johns Hopkins is known for their ride and I thought we did a fantastic job clearing and making the most of those opportunities.”
Follow Eden Otero on Twitter @edenotero_l
Mary-Sean Wilcox defends a shotduring UF’s win against Cincinnati on Feb. 23 at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
