The struggle is real for Florida’s offense.
On Saturday, No. 5 Florida’s (10-2, 2-0 American Lacrosse Conference) offense struggled for its third consecutive game against the No. 20 Ohio State Buckeyes (6-4, 1-1 ALC).
Even though the team pulled out a 10-9 win against the Buckeyes, the Gators offense was slow to start and struggled to finish.
Falling to a 2-0 deficit in the first two minutes of the game, Florida worked to the last second in the first half to tie the game at 3-3 for halftime.
When the team came out of the locker rooms to start the second half, Florida’s offense still lagged.
Junior Shannon Gilroy, who is Florida’s biggest scorer, was held to only one goal from the free-position shot at the half.
She completed the day with four points, four ground balls and four draw controls, an uncharacteristically small performance for the Gators.
However, even with Gilroy’s struggle to get the ball in the back of the net, she was still Florida’s highest scorer of the day.
Florida’s offense didn’t get any real momentum until there were 21 minutes left in the game and Florida went on a 4-0 run, putting them up for the first time in the game 8-7.
Coach Amanda O’Leary credited the team on rallying back even when momentum wasn’t in their favor.
“I’m just so proud of their effort,” O’Leary said in a press release. “They had each other’s backs – when one made a mistake, they tried to get the ball back. I’m so proud of this team.”
As the team looks to faceoff against Stetson on Wednesday, Florida’s offense will focus on getting back to its first-to-score motion on the field.
Follow Eden Otero on Twitter @edenotero_l
