2016 Gator Lacrosse Preview

The 2016 Florida Gator lacrosse teams brings in a plethora of experience this season as it boasts 10 seniors and eight juniors. They will be looking to win their sixth consecutive Big East regular season title and third straight tournament championship. After a second round loss for the second straight year in the NCAA Tournament, the Gators are out to prove they belong with the best of the best.

Here is my projected starting lineup for the 2016 squad:

• Attackman: Devon Schneider
• Attackman: Sammi Burgess
• Attackman: Lauren Lea
• Defenseman: Sydney DuPre
• Defenseman: Taylor Bresnahan
• Defenseman: Caroline Fitzgerald
• Midfielder: Mollie Stevens
• Midfielder: Nicole Graziano
• Midfielder: Carli Marsh
• Goalkeeper: Mary-Sean Wilcox

Here are the projected starters' key stats from last season:

1. Devon Schneider- 31 goals, 7 assists, and 38 total points in 21 games played.

2. Sammi Burgess- 25 goals, 13 assists, 21 ground balls fielded, and 38 total points in 21 games played.

3. Lauren Lea- 21 goals, 14 assists, 23 ground balls fielded, and 35 points in 21 games played.

4. Sydney DuPre- 1 goal, 10 ground balls fielded, and 10 caused turnovers in 19 games played.

5. Taylor Bresnahan- 1 goal, 23 ground balls fielded, 20 draw controls, and 15 caused turnovers in 20 games played.

6. Caroline Fitzgerald- 2 goals, 1 assist, 32 ground balls fielded, 12 draw controls, and 21 caused turnovers in 21 games played.

7. Mollie Stevens- 43 goals, 9 assists, 52 total points, 22 ground balls fielded, 79 draw controls, and 22 caused turnovers in 21 games played.

8. Nicole Graziano- 26 goals, 14 assists, 40 total points, 21 ground balls fielded, 40 draw controls, and 18 caused turnovers in 21 games played.

9. Carli Marsh- 10 goals, 2 assists, 12 total points, and 13 ground balls fielded in 20 games played.

10. Mary-Sean Wilcox- 106 saves in 21 games played.

Bench

Here's a quick look at some other Gators who should see substantial playing time during the 2016 campaign:

• Attacker: Carly Ross
• Attacker: Shayna Pirreca
• Defenseman: Aniya Flanagan
• Midfielder: Sam Darcangelo
• Defenseman: Angela Flister

Here are their key stats from 2015:

1. Carly Ross- 14 goals, 11 assists, 25 total points, and 20 ground balls fielded in 20 games played.

2. Shayna Pirreca- 14 goals, 6 assists, and 20 total points in 20 games played.

3. Aniya Flanagan- 12 ground balls fielded and 7 caused turnovers in 21 games played.

4. Sam Darcangelo- 2 goals, 1 assist, 26 ground balls fielded, 13 draw controls, and 15 caused turnovers in 21 games played.

5. Angela Flister- 1 goal and 11 ground balls fielded in 19 games played.

2016 Schedule

Here is the Florida Gators' schedule for this upcoming season!

January

9th: @U.S. National Team

February

6th: Loyola

13th: Michigan

18th: Wales National Team

20th: @North Carolina

27th: Dartmouth

March

1st: @Syracuse

4th: Niagara

6th: @Stony Brook

11th: Boston College

14th: Towson

19th: Maryland

26th: Vanderbilt*

April

2nd: Temple*

9th: @Georgetown*

13th: Marquette*

16th: @Villanova*

20th: @Cincinnati*

24th: Connecticut*

*Denotes SEC game
Home games in bold

Final Takeaway:
The Florida Gator lacrosse team is hungry for the first National Championship in school history. They have the experience, the playmakers, and brilliant head coach Amanda O'Leary. All they have to do now is just go out there and execute. If this team plays to its full potential, the Orange and Blue will be hoisting up the hardware come May.

*All stats accredited to FloridaGators.com

2015 Gator Woman's Lacrosse: A Year In Review

After losing 11-6 to the #2 ranked North Carolina Tarheels, the Florida Gators' 2015 lax season has come to a conclusion. Although they were bounced early in the NCAA Tournament, the Gators still have much to be proud of for this season.

They went 15-6 on the season while going 7-1 in Big East play to win a share of the conference regular season title. Then in the conference tournament, they smashed the #3 UConn Huskies 20-6 in the final to win the Big East Tournament. UConn was Florida's only conference loss all season. The Gators entered the NCAA tourney ranked #10, and were able to beat Stanford 15-10 before falling to North Carolina in the second round.

Winning a conference championship for the both regular season and the tournament is no easy task, so let's take a look at the players who helped the Gators achieve such an amazing feat!

Goals: Shannon Gilroy (74) (Senior)

Assists: Shannon Gilroy (24) (Senior)

Points: Shannon Gilroy (98) (Senior)

Shots: Shannon Gilroy (146) (Senior)

Ground Balls: Caroline Fitzgerald (34) (Sophomore)

Draw Controls: Shannon Gilroy (79) (Senior)

Saves: Mary-Sean Wilcox (106) (Junior)

Wins: Mary-Sean Wilcox (15) (Junior)

Losses: Mary-Sean Wilcox (6) (Junior)

Goals Allowed: Mary-Sean Wilcox (153) (Junior)

Caused Turnovers: Shannon Gilroy (22) (Senior)

Turnovers: Shannon Gilroy (22) (Senior)

As it can clearly be seen, Shannon Gilroy dominated the above list. Her and fellow seniors Nora Barry and Mikki Offit were crucial in the Gators' Big East title run. With them leaving now, a total of 10 juniors will take up the mantle and try to get Florida to the promise land. Behind them will be eight rising sophomores and freshmen with another superb recruiting class on its way in.

This was another great season for a predominantly youthful Florida Gator lacrosse program, and I hope that next year I can actually get out to Donald R. Dizney Stadium and watch a couple of games! Great season, girls! Go Gators!

*All stats accredited to Gatorzone.com

2014 Gator Women's Lacrosse: A Year In Review

I'll come right out of the gate and be honest. I only went to two Florida Gator lacrosse games the entire year. The first involved me and my friend freezing in 45º weather as rain descended upon us in a blowout win over Jacksonville. The second game I went to was against James Madison. The weather was much better this game but I think I still left before the half because I primarily came for a free shirt. Despite my very poor attendance, I still did my best to keep up with the progress and results of the Gator women's lax team throughout the season.

The team sported an 18-3 record during the year and ripped off two separate winning streaks of both 8 and 10 games. They won the regular season American Lacrosse Conference title for the fourth straight year in the young program's history as well as their second ALC tournament championship. With the ALC falling apart due to conference realignment issues, Florida will become a member of the Big East conference (which still exists in lacrosse) in the 2015 season.

In the NCAA Tournament, a familiar ALC foe in Northwestern eliminated the Gators in the quarterfinals in a 12-11 contest that required overtime. This was the third meeting between these two squads and all three of the games were decided by one point.

I believe that the Gators were at a disadvantage entering this game as they had already beaten Northwestern twice before. Losing by just one point in both those games (one being the ALC Championship) meant that Northwestern would eventually be due for a win. Unfortunately for the Gators, it came during the biggest game of the season. If it makes anything better, however, I will also mention that Northwestern would go on to lose to the eventual National Champion Maryland Terrapins.

Now, here are the Gator lax players who led the way in these respective stat categories:

Goals: Shannon Gilroy (86) (Junior)

Assists: Lauren Lea & Sammi Burgess (20) (Sophomore/Freshman)

Points: Shannon Gilroy (106) (Junior)

Shots: Shannon Gilroy (173) (Junior)

Ground Balls: Nora Barry (43) (Junior)

Draw Controls: Shannon Gilroy (82) (Junior)

Saves: Mary-Sean Wilcox (77) (Sophomore)

Wins: Mary-Sean Wilcox (10) (Sophomore)

Losses: Cara Canington (3) (Redshirt Senior)

Goals Allowed: Mary-Sean Wilcox (101) (Sophomore)

Caused Turnovers: Shannon Gilroy (24) (Junior)

Turnovers: Sammi Burgess (26) (Freshman)

For a team with just two seniors and six upperclassmen in total, the Florida Gators set the bar high once again in 2014. Winning the conference championship and nearly reaching the Final Four is an achievement that many schools wish they could do on a consistent basis. What's even scarier is that the Gators did this with a roster predominantly composed of freshmen and sophomores. Florida is going to have some pretty formidable lax squads in the upcoming years as these girls become juniors and seniors.

In terms of coaching, head coach Amanda O'Leary is one of the best in the business. She has done an absolute amazing job with this team with 243 wins in just five seasons. I won't be surprised if she leads one of these star studded Gator lax teams to a National Championship before I graduate.

As for my final thoughts on the 2014 season: I think it was another fantastic year for the UF lax team that they can learn and build on going forward. I can confidently say the excitement of this season has motivated me to attend a lot more games next year.

*All stats accredited to Gatorzone.com

UF Lacrosse: #7 Florida vs James Madison

The weather was perfect this time around as I attended my second UF lacrosse game of the year against the James Madison Dukes. Similar to the Jacksonville game, the Gators went down early when JMU scored first, but then the #7 Gators piled on goal after goal and took a 16-3 lead into the half. The Gator offense then cooled down in the second half as they won handily by a score of 21-8.

Offensively, junior midfielder Shannon Gilroy and sophomore attacker Carly Ross led the team with five goals a piece. The offensive production from these two alone would have been enough to beat JMU! Gilroy also did a good job distributing the ball as she tallied three assists on the night. The Gators took 31 shots compared to JMU's 17. It's no surprise the Gators scored 21 goals this game when their taking nearly double the amount of shots on goal as their opponent. I have noticed that the Gators score early and often, which by no means is a bad thing as most games are over by the half. Scoring has been no problem for the Gators over the course of these last three games (Jacksonville, High Point, James Madison) as they have outscored their opposition 60-23.

Things should be no different on Sunday as the #7 Gators face a Cincinnati team that lost its first game of the season to #15 Notre Dame by a score of 25-1. This game will be at home and will start bright and early at 11:30 a.m. For JMU, the only positives for them leaving this game is that they managed to tie the Gators in second half scoring with five goals. Now 1-1 on the season, the Dukes will look to get back on track as they face the Jacksonville Dolphins on the road at 10:30 a.m. It will be interesting to see how these former UF opponents fair against each other. I expect it to be a competitive game.

*Stats accredited to Gatorzone.com

UF Lacrosse: #4 Florida vs Jacksonville

On a cold, rainy Wednesday, the Florida Gators' lacrosse team took the field for their 2014 home opener. The weather deterred many fans from coming out as only 276 were were in attendance tonight. Coming off of a 20-8 loss to #1 North Carolina, the #4 Gators came to play as they routed the Jacksonville Dolphins by a score of 21-5 to notch their first victory of the season. This game was over at the half when the Gators led 14-3. Jacksonville actually scored first, but from there it was all the orange and blue.

Junior Shannon Gilroy led the way offensively for the Gators with seven goals. Sophomore Lauren Lea was the leader in assists with two. The Gators had the ball most of the game as they won 20 draws to Jacksonville's eight. They also beat the Dolphins in the turnover battle, only losing the ball 11 times compared to Jacksonville's 14. For the Dolphins, Sophomore Kelsey Wiglesworh was the leading scorer as she scored two goals in the contest. Senior Morgan Derner led the team in assists with two.

It was great getting to witness the dominance of Gator lacrosse first hand as they overwhelmed Jacksonville for most of the night. The Gators' next game will be at home against the High Point Panthers at 1 p.m. this upcoming Saturday. The Jacksonville Dolphins will look to bounce back from this drubbing as they head home to take on Colorado at 12 p.m. on Saturday as well.

*Stats accredited to Gatorzone.com

2014 Gator Softball, Lacrosse, and Baseball Previews

As spring rolls in, the Gator sports I will be keeping heavy tabs on are softball, women's lacrosse, and baseball. Each of these Gator teams have a viable chance of winning a National Championship, and I want to be there to capture each special moment every step of the way.

Softball:
On February 6, 2014, the Florida Gator softball team will open up its season in Tampa. Much optimism surrounds the team as they won the SEC and advanced to the Women's College World Series with a heavily youthful bunch. This year, the Gators return an experienced squad as they seek the first National Championship in the program's history. The two players to watch will be junior first baseman Lauren Haeger and senior pitcher Hannah Rogers. Haeger led the team in home runs (18) and RBI's (70) while Rodgers won 33 games during the 2013 campaign and had the best ERA on the team (1.29) and the most strikeouts (243). Defending their SEC title will be a challenge with the likes of Tennessee, LSU, and Alabama at their heels, but the Gators are more than ready for the opportunity to prove that they have one of the most talented teams in the conference as well as the country.

Lacrosse:
Coming just three wins away from their first National Championship in program history, the Gator lacrosse team looks poised to make another run after an 18-3 record and a share of the American Lacrosse Conference title during the 2013 season. Ten seniors were lost due to graduation and now the opportunity has been put forth for someone else to step up and etch their name in Gator lacrosse lore. The 2014 lax team will be led by two seniors and is stocked full of freshmen and sophomores with some juniors sprinkled in the mix. Two key players coming back for the lax team are junior midfielders Shannon Gilroy and Nora Barry. In 2013, Gilroy scored 44 goals with seven assists and accounted for 51 total Gator points. Barry scored 40 goals and contributed eight assists to rack up a total of 48 points. Both goalkeepers (redshirt senior Cara Canington and redshirt freshman Mary-Sean Wilcox) return so the Gators will still have experience at this crucial position. Look for the Gators to make a deep run as they pursue their fourth consecutive American Lacrosse Conference title and that elusive but very attainable National Championship that has been placed before them.

Baseball:
Last, but certainly not least is the outlook for the 2014 Gator baseball squad. The team opens up their season on Valentine's Day with a three game series vs Maryland and they will look to get further than regional play this time around while also finishing with a record above .500. Losing only two seniors to graduation, the Gators actually have no seniors on this year's squad. Instead, it will be the junior class who will be tasked with leading the team to its National Championship this year. Among these 11 juniors is star switch hitting catcher Taylor Gushue. I actually played against Gushue during his high school years at Calvary Christian Academy, so I do not need to see film or stats to know how good of a ballplayer he is. Similar to his old high school days, Gushue was one of the offensive leaders for the Gators last year with five home runs and 33 RBI's and many will look to him to spark the offense again this year with his power. From a pitching standpoint, I cannot identify who the ace of the staff is. Regardless, the key to pitching is having a starter who can give the team five to six solid innings and then put it in the hands of the bullpen. The backend of the bullpen is especially crucial as closing out games is what championship teams do the best. From what I can tell, junior John Magliozzi looked like a solid closer with 12 saves, a 2.67 era, and 57 strikeouts (which were the second most on the team) during his sophomore campaign last year. In 2014, the Gators will also look to compete for its first SEC title since 2011. The SEC is one of the best baseball conferences in the country and it helps the Gators tremendously that they get to play elite competition day in and day out. Like the two teams mentioned before them, the baseball team has a load of talent and experience returning for the 2014 season and they should be very determined to get back in Omaha after missing out last year.

*Stats accredited to Gatorzone.com