With just 17 seconds left on the clock and the score tied at 11-apiece, Florida junior attacker Gianna Monaco stepped up to the eight-meter arc with the game at her stick on a free position shot.
Monaco sprinted towards the net, and despite being heavily contested, slotted her shot just under the left side of the Johns Hopkins goalkeeper.
The game-winning goal clinched No. 5 Florida lacrosse (1-0) a 12-11 win over No. 11 Johns Hopkins (0-1) at Homewood Field in Baltimore.
The Gators, who scored the most goals in the nation in 2024, leaned on their more experienced defenders throughout the match, while their offensive production came from a variety of directions.
Eight different Gators scored goals in the bout, as junior midfielder Kaitlyn Davies led the team with three of her own.
Davies came into the match with only seven career goals in her two seasons with the Gators. On Friday, however, she excelled with the freedom to play a more offensive role.
Meanwhile, UF graduate student goalkeeper Georgia Hoey got the start over redshirt junior goalkeeper Elyse Finnelle and made the most of her opportunity. Hoey saved 10 shots on 21 attempts on goal in the match.
Hoey started off early by denying the opening shot of the bout with a stick save, which then led to UF’s first goal of the season by junior attacker Ava Tighe.
Davies then made her presence felt on the offensive end, scoring two goals in the first quarter to give UF a 3-1 lead after the first 15 minute frame.
Both sides traded goals to open up the second quarter, with Florida’s fourth of the game coming from graduate student midfielder Jenny Markey, assisted by graduate student attacker Jordan Basso.
It was the first point of Markey and Basso’s UF careers after transferring from Syracuse and Gettysburg College, respectively.
The Blue Jays quickly responded and took a 6-4 lead in the second quarter behind four combined goals from junior attackers Ashley Mackin and Ava Angello.
Mackin led both teams in scoring in the bout, as she fired in five goals for Johns Hopkins.
UF tied it back up, however, behind Davies’ hat-trick goal and Markey’s second tally of the bout, evening up the contest at 6-apiece heading into the half.
After goals from both sides to open the second half, redshirt freshman attacker Frannie Hahn scored the first goal of her Florida career to help UF reclaim its lead, 8-7.
From there, both defenses and goalkeepers regained control of the third period, as Hoey and JHU junior goalkeeper Morgan Giardina made crucial stops on free position shots.
Johns Hopkins opened up the scoring in the fourth period with two free-position goals in 43 seconds by Mackin and senior midfielder Annie Marshall to give the Blue Jays a 9-8 lead.
It seemed that the Gators had evened up the match at 9-apiece when freshman attacker Clark Hamilton threw a bouncer into the net, but the goal was taken away due to an illegal stick penalty.
JHU’s Mackin and UF’s Basso then proceeded to score two goals each, as the score sat at 11-10 in favor of the Blue Jays with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
However, Hamilton redeemed herself by scoring her first collegiate goal to even the match at 11.
A massive defensive stop and a ground ball pickup by sophomore defender Ashley Dyer gave the Gators possession with a minute left in the bout.
From there, Hamilton drew a crucial foul, and Monaco slotted home the winning free-position goal to secure the victory for Florida.
The Gators will now head back to Donald R. Dizney Stadium for their home opener against Kennesaw State on Sunday at 11 a.m.
Contact Max Bernstein at mbernstein@alligator.org. Follow him on X @maxbernstein23.
Max is in his fourth semester at The Alligator, and he is the Spring 2025 lacrosse reporter and a second-year journalism sports & media major. He is a big South Florida sports fan, and likes to go to concerts with his friends and family.
