Florida entered its road match against Vanderbilt on Sunday having lost three straight games.
The Gators were determined not to make it four.
No. 7 Florida (7-4, 1-0 Big East) defeated the Commodores (3-6, 0-1 Big East) 19-10 in Nashville, Tennessee, in both teams’ conference opener. The Gators played a physical and aggressive game, making sure to get back in the win column.
Senior Shannon Gilroy set the tone early for Florida, applying heavy pressure at the attacker position and seemingly scoring at will.
The Northport, New York, native filled the stat sheet with a career-high nine points — consisting of a season-high seven goals on 12 shots — two assists, five caused turnovers and eight draw controls.
The Gators looked to be back to the level of play they exhibited before losing three straight, which is vital for the team at this point in the season.
Coach Amanda O’Leary said after Florida’s loss to Stony Brook that the Gators now have to win the Big East, as far as postseason aspirations are concerned.
They got off to a great start on Sunday.
"I just think (Florida) played at a higher level," O’Leary said. "Offensively, they were really unselfish, they shared the ball...I was really pleased with that whole entire group, they did a great job."
This victory was O’Leary’s 250th career win as a collegiate head coach, becoming just the eighth Division I women’s lacrosse coach to accomplish the feat.
This particular annual match with Vanderbilt is also something unique. The two traditional Southeastern Conference schools are the only two with women’s lacrosse programs, so this game is occasionally referred to as the "SEC Regular Season Championship."
Florida certainly played like this was a championship game from start to finish. Along with Gilroy’s performance, sophomores Sammi Burgess and Mollie Stevens each added three goals and the team finished with 37 shots, a season-high.
On defense, the Gators caused 17 turnovers and 30 ground balls while goalkeeper Mary-Sean Wilcox recorded seven saves.
For now, it seems Florida has put its losing skid in the past and is focusing on the upcoming Big East schedule, and it got a terrific start to that schedule on Sunday.
"We needed this," O’Leary said. "We obviously needed that win."
Follow Alex Maminakis on Twitter @alexmaminakis
Shannon Gilroy runs down the field during Florida's 14-13 overtime loss to Syracuse on March 10 at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
