Paige Aldave. Sam Darcangelo. Alex Puller. Alix Lopez.
These are just a few of the players who most casual followers of the Florida lacrosse program have not paid much attention to this year. However, each of these player scored in the No. 3 Gators’ 19-3 thrashing of Niagara (1-4) on Friday night at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
Darcangelo netted a hat trick in the winning effort, while Aldave and Lopez each scored twice and Puller added a goal of her own.
The senior Darcangelo, now with four goals on the young season, has already doubled her goal total from last year.
All but six players on the Gators’ active roster made appearances in the rout, including senior Beth Willertz, who made her first appearance of the year. The Severn, Maryland, native gathered two ground balls and won one draw control against Niagara.
UF coach Amanda O’Leary was pleased that her starting team was relieved by a good effort from the usual reserves.
“Our starters came out hard, got us on the board early and then our subs came in and did their jobs,” O’Leary said in a release.
“Everybody did a fantastic job — really pleased with everyone’s effort.”
It took Florida (6-0) just under 11 minutes to score its 10th unanswered goal of the night. Senior attacker Devon Schneider scored her third goal of the game with 19:06 to go in the first half, doing so on a free-position shot.
The goal triggered an automatic running clock rule, which is activated once a team is leading by at least 10 goals. The clock did not stop the rest of the night.
Despite the overwhelming scoreline, the Purple Eagles were able to stick with the Gators in draw controls and turnovers, areas where Florida has struggled all season.
Florida ended the game with the most draw controls for the first time since its 15-6 season-opening win against Loyola.
The Gators will head back to New York, where they beat Syracuse last week, to play No. 8 Stony Brook on Sunday at 1 p.m.
A television broadcast contributed to this report.
Contact Kyle Brutman at kbrutman@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @KBrut13.
Sam Darcangelo prepares to shoot during Florida’s 18-7 win against High Point on Feb. 15, 2014 at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
