With just over four minutes left, freshman Lindsey Ronbeck scored her third goal of the game.
Florida won the ensuing draw control and had the chance to run out the clock, but Sydney Pirreca turned the ball over, giving Temple a chance to tie with time running out.
Sydney DuPre had other ideas.
The senior defender forced a Temple turnover, allowing the No. 2 Gators (11-1, 2-0 Big East) to escape with a 10-9 win over the Owls on Saturday at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
“(The goal at the end of the game was) to just stay low and be athletic and make as many plays as I can,” DuPre said.
The game’s final four minutes were a culmination of a defensive-minded second half, featuring just four goals from both sides. Ronbeck said that Temple’s role in stalling the offense was its ability to set up quickly for double teams.
The Gators did not respond well.
“We got a little frantic, and we turned the ball over a lot,” Ronbeck said, who notched her second hat trick of the season on Saturday.. “So, I think that’s a huge thing we need to work on is just staying composed when the double does come to us.”
The first half was just as close as the second, ending with a Lauren Lee goal with 13 seconds to play in the half to put Florida up 8-7.
Junior attacker Sammi Burgess scored in the first half, continuing her streak of 16 consecutive games where she’s scored a goal or assisted on one.
Redshirt senior Nicole Graziano also scored in the opening half, keeping her own streak alive — the midfielder has scored in each match since the second game of the season.
UF was without one of its top scorers in Mollie Stevens, as well as one of its first players off the bench in junior midfielder Carli Marsh.
“We need to make adjustments with the personnel that we have,” UF coach Amanda O’Leary said. “So, whomever is taking their place needs to step up.”
Freshman Madi Hall was thrusted into the lineup and came up with the ground ball pickup off DuPre’s caused turnover, allowing Florida to run the clock out.
Draw controls have been an issue all year for the Gators, and the trend continued on Saturday.
Temple won 13-of-21 draw controls, outclassing Florida in the category.
“It has to be a priority,” O’Leary said. “It has to be a priority because it’s a big part of the game.”
Next, Florida heads back on the road to face Georgetown on April 9, where the Gators will try to add to their two-game winning streak.
“We picked and choosed when we wanted to be competitive, and we can't win lacrosse games by doing that,” O’Leary said.
“We need to get back to the drawing board on Monday with a little bit more of a competitive edge for sure.”
Contact Kyle Brutman at kbrutman@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @KBrut13.
UF lacrosse midfielder Lindsey Ronbeck.
