A trio of hat tricks and a second-half surge wasn’t enough to earn the victory for the Gators lacrosse team.
Attackers Lindsey Ronbeck and Shannon Kavanagh, as well as midfielder Sydney Pirreca, each scored three goals against Princeton. But the rest of the team only scored two goals in a hard-fought but disappointing 13-11 loss to the Tigers at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
The Gators — now losers of five of their last seven — rallied after trailing by four in the second half to bring the game within one goal. But a shot from Princeton midfielder Elizabeth George put the Tigers up two with 2:15 to play, a deficit that turned out to be insurmountable for the Gators.
Princeton (5-1) set the pace to open the match, scoring two goals on its first three shots to take a 2-0 lead less than six minutes into the game. The Tigers continued to score, and the Gators (3-6) found themselves playing catch up.
But Florida refused to allow Princeton to increase the lead. UF stayed within two goals the entire period, eventually taking its first lead, 5-4, with 12:22 left in the half.
The Gators’ scoring attack kept them in the game, with two first-half goals each from Ronbeck, Pirreca and Kavanagh.
The two teams eventually went to the locker room tied at seven.
Florida took eight more shots than Princeton in the first period, but Tigers goalie Sam Fish saved nearly half of the shots against her. UF goalie Haley Hicklen struggled in the first half, saving only two of Princeton’s nine shots on goal.
Hicklen, the two-time Big East Goalkeeper of the Year, had an uncharacteristically off night. She allowed 13 goals with only seven saves for a save percentage of 35 percent.
Princeton took control early in the second half. A goal in the first minute gave the Tigers an 8-7 lead that they held for over seven minutes.
They started the half on a 5-1 run, extending their lead to 12-8. George and attacker Tess D’Orsi combined for four of those five goals. Both George and D’Orsi, alongside attacker Kyla Sears, recorded hat tricks.
Florida did its best to pull off the comeback, responding to the Princeton run with three straight goals to pull within one, but the bid was denied by George’s deciding goal.
UF took 32 shots, but only 22 were on goal. The Gators struggled to move the ball to set up good shots, only accounting for three team assists.
After a brutal opening stretch of the season that saw the team take on seven ranked teams, the schedule will soon ease up for the Gators. They only play one more match against a team currently ranked, a road bout with No. 19 Stony Brook on Saturday. After that, it’s a game against Brown at home before Florida opens its first season of American Athletic Conference play at Temple.
Follow Tyler Nettuno on Twitter @TylerNettuno and contact him at tnettuno@alligator.org.
Attackers Lindsey Ronbeck (pictured) and Shannon Kavanagh and midfielder Sydney Pirreca each scored three goals against Princeton. But the rest of the team only scored two goals in a 13-11 loss to the Princeton at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
