Young players who make an impact on their team day-in and day-out can be the most valuable ones on the roster. They can also spell out success for years to come.
For Florida, that player is Mollie Stevens.
The sophomore midfielder from Centreville, Maryland, is in the midst of her second-straight dominant year for the Gators. Her success on offense really started in her freshman season, when Stevens started 17 games and scored 36 goals, third-most on the team.
Now, in her second year, Stevens is maturing more as a player and is already becoming a leader on the offense, an offense consisting of mainly veterans.
She has now scored a goal in 16 consecutive games, dating back to 2014, which is four games short of tying the program record of 20 straight games set by Ashley Bruns from 2010-2011. Stevens will look to extend that scoring streak on Saturday as the No. 9 Gators (8-4, 2-0 Big East) host Georgetown (2-8, 1-0 Big East) at noon at Dizney Stadium.
Stevens is second on the team this year in goals with 25, and her consistency on offense has been the key to sparking runs of goals in games, leading to eventual Florida victories. She said it isn’t too hard for her to maintain that consistency each week.
“Just keep playing my game, I guess,” Stevens said, “and doing what I do best, and that’s working. Just playing lacrosse, it’s simple.”
Her play has not gone unnoticed by the team, either. Coach Amanda O’Leary said that Stevens stands out among the other offensive players with her style of play and the impact that she can have on any game when the ball is in her stick.
While Stevens downplayed her recent successes, O’Leary praised them.
“Mollie’s a critical part of our program. She, offensively, can do things that a lot of our other players can’t,” O’Leary said. “We do like to have the ball in her stick a lot, we have all the faith in the world when she has it, that she’s gonna do good things with it.”
“We’re just really pleased that Mollie is definitely on our team and we don’t have to try to defend her.”
The fact that the team has so much confidence in Stevens, as a sophomore, speaks to her future and the future of Florida lacrosse. She’s quickly becoming the leader of the pack and next season, when seniors Shannon Gilroy and Nora Barry are gone, Stevens could well be the face of the program.
That’s a position she wouldn’t mind taking.
“Yeah, I like it,” Stevens said on becoming a leader. “It’s always good to feel like one of the main players, and it’s good to be a part of this team.”
Follow Alex Maminakis on Twitter @alexmaminakis
Mollie Stevens (17) runs down the field during UF lacrosse's season-opening loss to UNC on Feb. 7, 2015 at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
