The No. 16 Florida lacrosse team (1-2) came back from a 7-2 deficit at halftime to take down the No. 6 Maryland Terrapins (3-1) 13-12 on Saturday in College Park.
With 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Gators were down by one. With the clock winding down, Florida graduate student midfielder Paisley Eagan found the net to tie the game at 12-12.
In overtime, Gators graduate student midfielder Emily Heller scored the game-winning goal, handing Maryland its first loss of the season.
Florida came back from a five-point deficit thanks to senior midfielder Madison Waters and graduate student midfielder Paisley Eagan, who both had hat tricks in the second half.
In the first two games of the season, second-half struggles plagued upset attempts over North Carolina and Loyola Maryland. But Saturday, Florida got it together in the second half and pulled off the upset over the No. 6 Terps.
Florida fell behind early in the game. By the end of the first quarter, Maryland was up by put score.
The Gators had two goals that didn't count in the first half, one by senior attacker Maggi Hall, who was called for an illegal pocket.
A low-scoring second quarter led to two Maryland goals, but none for the Gators. At halftime, they were behind 7-2, the highest deficit Florida had at the half all season.
Florida’s Madison Waters scored to kick off the second half, but Maryland graduate student attacker Hannah Leubecker responded right away to keep the Terrapins’ five-point lead.
The Gators came back from halftime with a new wind. They outscored Maryland 10-5 in the last two quarters to keep them, and Eagan’s goal in the final seconds forced overtime.
The Gators had lost the past three matchups and were 1-8 overall against the Terrapins. This is their second win against Maryland in program history.
The Gators host their first game of the regular season against Jacksonville University on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
Contact Lacey Rogers at lrogers@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @laceyyrog.
Lacey Rogers is a third-year journalism major and sports reporter for The Alligator. She is a huge Washington Capitals fan and hopes to work for them after she finishes school.
