Although the Gators were off to a strong start early in the first quarter Tuesday, Loyola (Maryland) quickly tied up the game at 3-apiece after a free-position goal by sophomore midfielder Mim Suares-Jury. However, the Gators did not falter, and one Gator made a major statement: Clark Hamilton.
The sophomore attacker recorded a hat-trick in the first half, leading the Gator attack despite a 10-9 halftime deficit. Then, with the score tied at 10-10 in the third quarter, Hamilton scored her fourth goal of the game, and she didn’t stop there. She scored three more goals, recording a career high of seven goals in a game. Previously, Hamilton’s career high was five goals against Arizona State on May 3 last season.
Behind Hamilton and multi-goal games from four other Gators, No. 12/10 Florida (1-1, 0-0 Big 12) was able to pull out a hard-fought 17-13 win against No. 19 Loyola (1-2, 1-0 Patriot League).
The other multi-goal scorers included redshirt sophomore Frannie Hahn, who also added three assists. Meanwhile, junior midfielder Gabbi Koury, graduate student Boo DeWitt and sophomore Gabby Greene all had two shots find the back of the net.
Hahn’s standout performance tied her for the third-fastest player in program history to reach 100 points.
While the Gators achieved their first win of the season, it was not without room for improvement.
For the second consecutive game, it was evident that Florida struggled in the draw circle; despite sifting through much of the bench, the Gators were completely outnumbered in draw controls. Loyola had 22 draw controls, with 16 coming from Greyhounds freshman midfielder Mae Murphy. Florida had eight draw controls.
But where the Gators failed in draw controls, they made up for in ground balls. Florida recovered 15 ground balls, with Hamilton and senior defender Theresa Bragg each leading with three. Meanwhile, Loyola recovered a total of six ground balls.
Florida scored 17 out of 38 shots for a 44.7% shooting percentage, while Loyola made 13 of its 35 shots for a 37.1% shooting mark. One reason the Gators were able to shut down the Greyhounds was due to the excellent play of freshman goaltender Maya Soskin. She made nine saves in only her second game as a Gator after being subbed in toward the end of the second quarter.
Florida will look to maintain its momentum as it hosts an exhibition match against Scotland Wednesday at 4 p.m. Following the match, the Gators will gear up to travel to Milton, Georgia to compete against No. 7/8 Clemson.
Contact Coral Uzgiden at cuzgiden@alligator.org. Follow her on X @coraluzgiden.
Coral is a sophomore Sports Journalism student in her first semester with the Alligator covering Lacrosse. She also has experience writing for WRUF and covering beats such as high school football and Gators swim and dive. She is an intern for the Women of the Lowcountry and in her free time enjoys playing waterpolo, going to the gym and being outside.
