UF Lacrosse: AAC Tournament Champs! Gators Dominate Owls to Clinch Tournament Championship
Courtesy of University Athletic Association
BY KATIE CALLAHAN
Top-seeded Florida defeated the No. 3 seed Temple 19-4 on Saturday afternoon
The eighth-ranked Florida lacrosse team dominated the Temple Owls 19-4 on Saturday afternoon at Donald R. Dizney Stadium to secure the 2021 AAC Tournament Championship.
The Gators improve to 16-2 on the year and have won 13 straight games, while Temple falls to 12-5 on the year.
Florida secured its seventh consecutive tournament championship and eighth overall. The Gators were able to hoist both the regular season championship trophy and tournament championship trophy for the eighth time in program history.
Brianna Harris and Shannon Kavanagh each posted six goals on the afternoon to lead the way offensively for the Gators. That mark was a career-best for Harris, surpassing her previous high of five (twice).
Grace Haus added four goals of her own, while Kassidy Bresnahan, Shelton Sawers, and Jill Quigley each found the back of the cage once for Florida.
Harris also registered four assists in the game – putting her at 10 points for the day. That was a career-best mark and is the second-highest total in a game in program history. Maggi Hall dished out a personal-best two assists as well, while Ashley Gonzalez and Kaala Puglisi each posted one helper in the game.
The Gators won 11 draw controls in the game, led by three apiece from Kavanagh and Emily Heller. Paisley Eagan and Harris each added two draws of their own in the game.
Florida’s defense was lights-out, limiting Temple to its lowest scoring total this season. The Gators caused 13 turnovers in the game, led by five from Cara Trombetta. Kaitlyn Dabkowski and Emma Wightman each registered three of their own in the game to secure the victory.
Trombetta, Kavanagh, and Dabkowski all picked up a team-high four groundballs in the victory.
Sarah Reznick notched three saves in her 53:21 in the cage, Julia Hammerschlag tied her career-high in both saves (2) and goals allowed (0) during her 6:39 between the posts.
The Gators now await the NCAA Tournament Selection Show to determine their postseason destination. The combined women’s and men’s selection show is slated for Sunday at 9 p.m. and will air on ESPNU.