The No.12 Florida Gators (0-2) went from an 8-8 tie at halftime to losing 19-10 against the No. 6 North Carolina Tar Heels (2-1) in Chapel Hill on Saturday.
Going back-and-forth throughout the first half, the Gators had another poor second-half performance to suffer their second loss of the season.
Florida kept a lead for the majority of the second quarter but lost it after goals from North Carolina freshman midfielder GraceAnn Leonard and senior attacker Caitlyn Wurzburger
In the first two quarters, midfielder graduate student Emily Heller had a team-leading three goals for the Gators. Senior attacker Maggi Hall had two goals in the first half.
However, Heller and Hall were shut out for the rest of the game.
The Tar Heels took the lead in the third quarter after consecutive goals from graduate student attacker Ashley Humphrey and senior midfielder Alyssa Long.
Florida lost its grip on the game during the third quarter. UF only scored one goal compared to UNC’s four in the quarter. The Gators only had three shots on goal throughout the third.
In the second half, UF was outscored 11-2. Four Tar Heels had hat tricks: sophomore attacker Kiley Mottice, senior midfielder Alyssa Long, freshman attacker Eva Ingrilli and Wurzburger. Heller was the only Gator to have a hat trick, but it came in the first half.
After the first three minutes of the final quarter, the Gators were down 13-9.
North Carolina’s fifth-year midfielder Olivia Dirks sealed Florida’s fate with her first goal of the game. This put the Tar Heels up 15-9 with only five-and-a-half minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Gators graduate student midfielder Paisley Eagan responded with her first goal of the season on a free position goal. Though, Ingrilli found the back of Florida’s net less than a minute later to keep UNC’s lead at six.
Three Tar Heels scored in the last three minutes. Ingrilli closed out the game with North Carolina’s 19th goal.
North Carolina held Florida to just two goals during the second half, causing the Gators to fall by nine.
Next, Florida will travel to College Park, Maryland, to play the No. 9 Terrapins on Feb. 24. The Gators are still seeking their first win of the season.
Contact Lacey Rogers at lrogers@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @laceyyrog.
Lacey Rogers is a third-year journalism major and sports reporter for The Alligator. She is a huge Washington Capitals fan and hopes to work for them after she finishes school.
