After Florida coach Amanda O’Leary’s constant talk about her defense working together as a unit rather than as individuals, UF (5-3, 0-1 American Lacrosse Conference) has stepped up its play in the last two games, allowing just six goals.
In the most recent, a physical 15-3 win over New Hampshire (4-3) on Saturday, the Gators completed 20 of 22 clears, allowed its opponent just 11 shots and didn’t offer New Hampshire any free-position shots.
Attacker Ashley Bruns overcame a few checks to the head to lead UF with six goals and three assists while midfielder Colby Rhea added three scores and attacker Caroline Cochran had two.
The match got off to a slow start, as Florida scored the first goal of the match at 22:11 remaining in the first half and then reeled off the next four scores to take a commanding 5-0 lead with 8:56 left.
The Wildcats got on the board about a minute later, and UF led 7-1 at the half.
Goalkeeper Cara Canington said the recent defensive success has been a result of the team’s cohesive play.
“We’re getting the slides off balls, and we’re all doing our jobs,” Canington said. “They’re giving me the angles to make those saves, and it’s just all coming together.”
To start the second half, Canington gave up two unanswered goals, allowing the Wildcats to cut the lead to four. But those were their last scores, and UF responded with eight-straight to seal the win.
O’Leary said she was proud her squad was able to put together another solid 60 minutes of play as it did in a 22-3 win against Marist on Wednesday.
“We knew UNH was a strong one-on-one team. They like to get the ball and go to goal,” O’Leary said. “And our players were just really able to step up and deny the one-on-ones. We slid the double early, and we were just really successful with it.”
In the pregame warm-up, UF lost one of its most versatile players, Rachael Zimmerman. The sophomore suffered a knee injury and was not on the field during the game Saturday. The results of her MRI are not yet known.
O’Leary said it was an important loss for the Gators because of the leadership Zimmerman offers.
