On paper, Florida looks like a lock to continue its dominant ways tonight against Cornell, but numbers may be misleading.
The Gators (5-3, 0-1 American Lacrosse Conference) are on an emotional high after winning their last two games by a combined score of 37-6, and they’ll host the Big Red (2-4, 1-1 Ivy League), losers of two-straight, at 6:30 p.m.
“We’re coming off a really great win, and we just need to keep that momentum going, play hard, and continue doing what we did on Saturday,” UF coach Amanda O’Leary said.
But Cornell will give Florida a more difficult challenge than its last two opponents, New Hampshire and Marist, so a blowout may not be in the cards for the final match of a three-game home stand.
Cornell suffered three of its four losses by two points, and two of the three were against top-25 teams Rutgers and Loyola.
And the Gators will be without sophomore Rachael Zimmerman, who injured her knee during pregame warm-ups against New Hampshire.
O’Leary said an MRI revealed that the attacker, who also played defense and midfield, tore her left ACL and has meniscus damage that will cause her to miss the rest of the season.
“That’s a huge loss, on the field, off the field,” O’Leary said. “On the field it’s difficult, because she played a critical role, coming off the midi-attack sub, so she’s a big loss for us.”
Despite missing the last game, Zimmerman ranks second on the team in ground balls and is tied for the lead in turnovers forced.
To fill the void, perpetual scoring threats like attacker Ashley Bruns and midfielder Colby Rhea will be expected to continue leading UF’s offense.
The duo has been unstoppable lately.
Bruns leads the team with 12 scores and seven assists in the last two games. She has run an efficient offense, and her play against Marist and New Hampshire earned her Rookie of the Week by WomensLax.com.
Rhea, who scored six goals in the last two games, said she is more of a cutter than a driver on offense, but that works well with Bruns passing to her.
“I work with Ashley a lot; she’s a good feeder for me,” Rhea said.
“When we are working well together, that’s when most of my goals are scored, so it’s been good.”
UF coach Amanda O’Leary said she didn’t intentionally string three less competitive home games together, but the stint has certainly come at a beneficial time, breaking up a losing streak and putting the team in a better frame of mind going forward.
“These couple games are building our confidence up, so when we play Ohio State, our next ALC game, we can play with them and hopefully beat them,” Rhea said.
