With 4:33 left in Florida’s Final Four matchup against Northwestern, senior attacker Maggi Hall scored her fifth goal of the game with a national championship appearance hanging in the balance.
It certainly wasn’t the result the Gators were hoping for, losing 15-11, but it was a miraculous run nevertheless. As the 2025 season quickly approaches, new challenges await for UF as the team looks to pick up where it left off.
After five seasons competing in the American Athletic Conference, the Florida lacrosse team is set to make a switch to the Big 12. As the difficulties of joining a new conference await, expectations remain high.
“I think the goal definitely is to obviously make it back to the Final Four,” redshirt junior goalkeeper Elyse Finnelle said. “But I think this year, we all kind of told each other, ‘Let’s take it one step farther and let’s make it to the national championship, and we can take it even one more step farther than that and win the national championship.’”
There will be a team-wide standard of excellence that Florida will look to meet. However, Finnelle holds herself to her own standard as she looks to stay away from the complacency that could come from last season’s success.
Florida made its second Final Four appearance in program history last season. This recent success could lead to the Gators getting every team’s best shot come 2025.
“We just have to elevate our game, because there is a little bit of a target on our back,” Finnelle said.
Finnelle was Florida’s starting goalkeeper for the majority of last season, allowing 9.07 goals per game. Her highest save percentage in a full-game performance came against North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In a 17-8 win, she saved 14 of 22 shots she faced.
Senior defender Celeste Forte also played a vital role for the Gators last season. She has shared her excitement for the jump to a bigger conference, namely due to the new and improved competition slated to come UF’s way.
“I would say I’m definitely very excited for this coming up season, just because we are going to be playing a lot of new teams, a lot of different competition,” Forte said.
With an increased role expected in 2025, Forte isn’t looking to change her style of play, largely because of the success she had last season. Moreover, she emphasized her excitement for the continuity with her returning teammates.
Forte has built an incredibly strong relationship with Finnelle, both on and off the field. Their chemistry and trust with one another stems from simple things, such as working out or watching movies.
“Elyse is my roommate, which is really nice, so I feel like we have a good connection with each other, and we’ve been playing together for the past three years through everything,” Forte said.
Florida’s arrival to the Big 12 will give the Gators a competitive boost heading into the NCAA Tournament.
The Gators are slated to matchup against a variety of quality Big 12 opponents in 2025, such as Cincinnati, Colorado and San Diego State. Nonetheless, senior midfielder Josie Hahn is up for the task.
“I think we’re all really excited to have some better competition, especially because we play conference right before we go into the NCAA Tournament,” Hahn said. “I think it’s kind of just pushing us all to work harder because we know that like the entire season is going to be hard.”
In the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season, Hahn recorded a hat trick against North Carolina. That performance helped increase her confidence significantly.
As Hahn, Forte and Finnelle continue to gear up for Florida’s emergence into the Big 12, UF head coach Amanda O’ Leary advised players to walk around with the confidence that they are one of the best teams in the entire nation.
“Knowing that she has our back and she wants to see the best out of us,” Finnelle said. “She’s going to push us hard, but knowing that she always instills confidence in us during practice,” Finnelle said.
Finnelle said Florida’s practices have become more intense since the team’s Final Four run, especially considering how close the team was to winning the national championship.
As the Gators prepare for the Big 12 and another potential run to the Final Four, one message remains clear.
“I think it’s just to trust the process, and trust that the coaches have a plan.” she said. “They didn’t put us in this conference to fail, and they put us in there to have us compete.”
Contact Jackson Colding at jcolding@alligator.org. Follow him on X @Colding_Jackson.
Jackson Colding is a junior sports journalism major and The Alligator's Fall 2024 Swim and Dive Reporter. In his free time, he enjoys going to the gym and playing hockey. He cannot wait to be as involved with The Alligator as possible.
