Just over two minutes into the second quarter of Thursday’s match, Florida lacrosse redshirt freshman attacker Frannie Hahn held the ball in her stick with the Gators on the man-advantage. Behind the goal, she looked towards the front of the Florida net, eyeing an opportunity.
Then, she spotted her older sister — senior midfielder Josie Hahn — cutting towards the net, sneaking by a defender who had her back turned. The redshirt freshman fired a pass over the net, directly into the senior’s stick, who instantly launched her shot into the back of the net.
It was the third time this season that Frannie assisted Josie for a goal, but this one had major implications. It brought Florida, which had fallen behind by three in the first quarter, back within one goal. The Gators dominated the second quarter, outscoring Clemson 9-2 in the frame.
From there, No. 8 UF (7-2) never let the Tigers get any momentum, as it defeated No. 15 Clemson 16-10 to win its fourth consecutive match. On the offensive end, junior midfielder Kaitlyn Davies led the way for the Gators, scoring four goals. She also won five draw controls, forced five turnovers and picked up three ground balls.
Five other Gators scored multiple times. Graduate student attacker Jordan Basso had three goals. Junior attacker Gianna Monaco, graduate student midfielder Jenny Markey and freshman midfielder Gabby Greene followed with two. Meanwhile, Josie Hahn scored two goals while Frannie Hahn added one and three assists.
The Gators dominated the draw circle, winning 16 of 28 controls. Florida was also efficient defensively, as it was successful on all 22 of its clearing attempts.
UF redshirt junior goalkeeper Elyse Finnelle had the start for UF, but after surrendering four early scores, she subbed out just over halfway through the first quarter. In her place, graduate student Georgia Hoey played the final 52 minutes, saving seven shots while surrendering six goals.
Clemson (6-4) converted on four of its first five shots, which prompted the goalkeeping change by Florida head coach Amanda O’Leary. Clemson sophomore attacker Kayla Macloud scored a hat trick in the quarter, as Clemson stormed to a 5-2 advantage. Macleod would ultimately score a match-high five goals.
However, from the second quarter on, it was all Florida. Seven different Gators scored a combined nine goals, while outshooting the Tigers 15-3. Davies opened up and closed the scoring in the frame, while also notching another goal over halfway through to give UF its first lead of the day. Meanwhile, Monaco added a score and two assists in the quarter.
The scoring died down in the third quarter, as both teams only managed to tally two goals. Clemson senior goalkeeper Emily Lamparter made five saves in the quarter to keep the gap at four, while Hoey denied two Clemson shots.
In the final quarter, Hoey made four more saves, and Basso scored twice to complete her hat trick. With time running down, the Gators remained the aggressors, outscoring Clemson 3-1 in the fourth quarter.
Florida will next face the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia on Wednesday at noon.
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.
