For the second time in six days, the Florida lacrosse team knocked off a ranked opponent.
On Tuesday, it was a 11-10 overtime win over No. 2 Syracuse on the hinges of a game-winning goal from Mollie Stevens. On Sunday it was another highly contested matchup against No. 8 Stony Brook.
In a defensive battle, the No. 3 Gators (7-0) edged out the Seawolves 7-6, giving Florida a 4-0 record versus ranked opponents this season.
The latter three victories — first against North Carolina, then Syracuse and now Stony Brook — were won by a combined total of just three goals.
The spotlight was set on UF’s oldest player in the winning effort.
Redshirt senior midfielder Nicole Graziano, this year’s captain and the lone player remaining from the 2012 team that advanced to the national semifinals, shined in the first half. She scored the final four goals of the half to give the Gators an early 5-2 lead.
The Mendham, New Jersey, native also assisted on a goal scored by Sammi Burgess that secured the lead for the game’s final 14 minutes.
Stevens, a junior midfielder who sat out Saturday against Niagara, scored the opening goal — her team-leading 17th of the season — for the Gators. The goal also extended Stevens’ program-record streak of consecutive games with a goal to 31.
The goal by Stevens came just under four minutes into the game, but Graziano wouldn’t start her scoring spree for another 14 minutes, a time span during which the Seawolves took a 2-1 advantage.
Florida led 5-2 at halftime and held a dominant advantage in draw controls (6-1). The Gators did not let up in the draw circle, ending the game with 11 draw controls to two for Stony Brook.
The Gators’ final score of the game came with 11:46 remaining off the stick of defender Taylor Bresnahan, assisted by defender Aniya Flanagan, for her third goal of the season to create a 7-5 scoreline.
Stony Brook’s Taylor Ranftle was able to bring her team within one goal two minutes later off of a free-position shot, but the final nine minutes and change was met with no goals from either side. The only shot came from the Seawolves with 1:08 remaining but was saved by Florida keeper Mary-Sean Wilcox.
After a string of four-game spanning eight days, the Gators will now start a five-game home stretch and will not play another away game until April 9 when they visit Big East opponent Georgetown.
Contact Kyle Brutman at kbrutman@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @KBrut13.
UF's Nicole Graziano (right) makes a play on the ball during Florida's 16-6 win over Dartmouth on Feb. 27, 2016.
