In a Tuesday evening matchup filled with intrigue, Florida lacrosse met new in-state rival South Florida for the first time at Corbett Stadium in Tampa.
The Gators played a far more aggressive game than the Bulls, which led to a forceful offensive performance that saw four Florida players record hat-tricks.
The No. 5 Gators (3-1) defeated South Florida (3-1) 18-11 in a win that brought UF to 20-1 all-time against teams in the state of Florida.
UF now also holds the distinction of handing the Bulls their first ever loss in program history, as USF is in its first official collegiate season.
Florida’s resounding performance came just three days after its first loss of the season to No. 2 North Carolina.
Junior attacker Gianna Monaco led the statsheet for the Gators, scoring five goals and adding an assist.
Monaco also scored the highlight goal of the game midway through the third quarter when she fell, shot from the ground and still managed to squeeze the ball past USF graduate student goalkeeper Paige Pagano.
It was Monaco’s third hat-trick in as many matches, as she leads the Gators with 13 goals on the season.
Meanwhile, UF graduate student attacker Jordan Basso recorded her first hat-trick as a Gator while also adding two assists. Freshman attacker Clarke Hamilton also scored her second hat-trick in just her fourth career game, ending the match with three goals.
Rounding out Florida’s four hat tricks on the day, sophomore midfielder Gabbi Koury notched three goals as well. This marked Koury’s first career hat-trick, as she also added two assists.
Three other Gators added goals in the bout, which ended up as UF’s highest-scoring effort so far this season.
Florida also dominated the bout in the draw circle, as it recorded 22 draw controls to USF’s 10.
The peak of the Gator draw domination came in the match’s second period, where UF won six of eight draw controls.
Meanwhile, the Bulls were led by redshirt sophomore attacker Sofia Chepenik, who tallied five goals for USF.
Despite the ultimate result, the bout started as a more defensive-oriented affair, as both teams looked to find their rhythm.
Just about halfway through the first period, however, the Gators opened the floodgates and never looked back.
Koury scored the opening goal of the match on a free-position shot.
Four other UF attackers followed suit with goals of their own in the first period: redshirt freshman Frannie Hahn, Hamilton, Monaco and Basso.
With a five-goal lead in hand at the end of the first frame, the Gators kept the pressure on throughout the remainder of the match, while the Bulls attempted to push back.
The match reached its closest point in the second period, when USF scored on a free-position shot to bring it within three.
However, the Gators quickly responded, delivering a crucial blow to the Bulls’ comeback attempt.
Just a minute after the USF goal, UF junior attacker Ava Tighe threaded the needle to find a spinning Basso near the net. The latter then fired home the final goal of the first half to give the Gators a 9-5 lead at the break.
Florida’s momentum continued into the second half, where just under two minutes in, UF junior midfielder Kaityn Davies found the back of the net to bring the lead back up to five.
Despite the Bulls later scoring more goals of their own, they seemed to have no answer for Florida’s offensive attack, which continued rolling.
The Gators outscored the Bulls 6-4 in the third quarter. UF would once again get the better of USF once again in the fourth, when it scored three goals to South Florida’s two.
The victory marked the 55th consecutive Gator win over unranked opponents.
Florida now has an 11-day break until its next match away against James Madison, which will take place Mar. 1 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.
