Following No. 2 Florida lacrosse's 10-9 win against a feisty Temple team on April 2, UF coach Amanda O’Leary was concerned about her team’s aggression — or, rather, its lack thereof.
The Gators failed to finish the game with more draw controls than the opposition for the ninth time this season in the matchup with Temple.
"We picked and choosed when we wanted to be competitive, and we can’t win lacrosse games by doing that," O’Leary said after the game.
However, last Saturday at Georgetown — just one game removed from the win over the Owls — Florida showed just how competitive it could be starting in the first half.
By the time it went to the halftime locker room with an 8-2 lead, UF was the better team in draw controls (7-4) and ground ball pickups (12-8), while also stopping the Hoyas from clearing the ball out of their defensive end five times in nine attempts.
The second half was more level, as Georgetown was outscored by just one goal in the final 30 minutes. The Gators ended up taking the win, 14-7.
"They just competed," O’Leary said Monday. "It was, I think, our competitiveness — going after it — it was boxing out our opponents. We were sending two the ball versus just letting one person out there."
Florida (12-1, 3-0 Big East) hopes to take its competitive mindset into today's 2 p.m. home game against Marquette (4-8, 1-1 Big East) at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
Like the Hoyas, Marquette’s record isn’t representative of a team that can give the Gators too many challenges, but the Golden Eagles have shown they can compete with tough opponents.
Marquette’s offense is one O’Leary called "aggressive," as it has scored at least eight goals in all but two games this season — MU averages just 2.17 fewer goals per game than UF.
The Golden Eagles lost by just three goals early in the season to a Michigan team that almost took down Florida on Feb. 13, had it not been for a Shayna Pirreca-led comeback that gave UF a 12-11 win.
While Marquette has split its first two Big East games, it was impressive in both showings.
It beat Villanova on the road 15-6 in its conference opener, followed by a 15-13 loss to a Connecticut team that showcases a 9-2 record this season.
The match against Marquette will be the first Wednesday game for Florida this season.
Having just played this weekend, the Gators had less time to prepare for the Golden Eagles than they normally would.
Wednesday’s game will also give UF less time to prepare for Saturday’s away game against Villanova, but O’Leary said her players prefer having to crunch more preparation into a smaller amount of time.
"They’d rather be out there playing than practicing," she said. "So, I think this fits into what they like better anyways."
Contact Kyle Brutman at kbrutman@alligator.org and you can follow him on Twitter @KBrut13.
UF's Nicole Graziano (right) makes a play on the ball during Florida's 16-6 win over Dartmouth on Feb. 27, 2016.
