Amanda O’Leary opened the first media availability of the season, exuding nothing but confidence.
Though she lost 10 seniors — eight of which were starters — that led the team to an undefeated conference record last season, this decade ushers in a new era for the team.
Ranked No. 14 in the IWLCA Preseason Poll, the Gators will have an opportunity to test their young roster against No. 18 Colorado on Feb. 8 at noon.
“We are going to see a lot of new faces coming into this season,” O’Leary said. “That’s really exciting for us, we have had a great preseason. Our seniors and our upperclassman have done a great job taking the underclassmen under their wing and making sure they understand the culture and the work ethic of this team.”
But they will face some challenges.
The team lost attacker Lindsey Ronbeck, who led the team in goals (89) and points (107) last year, as well as three-time conference goalie of the year and all-time saves leader, Halie Hicklen, to graduation.
Offensively, junior midfielder Shannon Kavanagh who totaled 95 points last season, will command the bulk of Ronbeck’s production. Defensively, senior defender Cara Trombetta is expected to have a dominant year. She averaged 1.7 caused turnovers per game last season.
Both are preseason All-Americans.
“Shannon is a very unique player in the fact that she is a middie (midfielder) and plays both ends of the field,” O’Leary said. “She is super athletic and has a really high lacrosse IQ, but more importantly, she is a really good kid — fun to be around and fun to coach. She was named a captain, and that was for a reason.”
In the goal, redshirt freshman Sarah Reznick will start over senior Kenzii Kittell. Reznick was the No. 1-rated goalie in the 2017 recruiting class after compiling 681 saves during her high school career.
Against the Buffaloes, Florida will have to maximize its depth if it’s to overcome a talented Buffs team that was second in the Pac-12 preseason coaches poll.
If the game goes Colorado’s way, goal-scoring will come tough for the Gators. They’ll face senior goalie Julia Lisella, who averaged 10.2 goals-against in 2019 (19th nationally).
Yet, O’Leary remains optimistic about their chances.
“Your first game is always a big gauge in determining where you are,” she said. “It will be exciting for us to get out there and execute on the things we’ve been working on day in and day out. For the first game, we are trying to execute the basics. If we can do that, we will be successful.”
Part of her confidence stems from the promising group of freshmen. Of the 14 newcomers, midfielders Emily Heller and Shelton Sawers are poised to provide an immediate impact.
Another freshman who will be relied on heavily is attacker Kaala Puglisi. An expected starter, she will try to help fill the void left by Ronbeck, who accounted for 22.5 percent of all points and 27.5 percent of all goals scored for the Gators last season.
“We lost a lot of seniors last year that had a huge impression on our program, but we have 14 freshmen that came in, so they are filling the spots well,” Kavanagh said. “We are excited that we have a lot of players that didn’t get a chance to show off last year that are filling those positions.”
Having coached the team since its inception, O’Leary is no stranger to developing a young, inexperienced team, and it’s a feeling that has become contagious within the team. If managed properly, this season can continue Florida’s streak of six-straight conference championships.
“The mood going into the game on Saturday is excitement,” Trombetta said. “It’ll be good to see where we are and see what we can build on for the rest of the season.”
Follow Chris Ortega on Twitter @unofficialchris. Contact him at cortega@alligator.org.
