The Gators were relentless since the first draw, not only shutting out San Diego State for the entirety of the first frame but leaving the Aztecs shotless against Florida’s defense.
As usual, shots by Florida in the first quarter came from an array of players, including graduate student midfielder Boo DeWitt, redshirt sophomore attacker Frannie Hahn and freshmen Caroline Hoskins and Autumn Blair. But it was a hat trick from senior midfielder Kaitlyn Davies that gave the Gators a seven-point lead entering the second 15 minutes.
Behind the strong start, the No. 6 Gators (11-2, 3-0 Big 12) overwhelmed San Diego State (2-11, 0-3 Big 12) 18-6 to take their third conference win of the season.
It wasn’t until the first 30 seconds of the second frame that San Diego State’s sophomore midfielder Keira Doyle-Odenbach put the Aztecs on the board. Their slight glimpse of hope didn’t last long as the Gators went on a 5-0 run for the remainder of the quarter.
Clark Hamilton scored two more goals for a hat trick, and the clock began to run.
Both teams endured a slow-paced third quarter. Following freshman midfielder Jameson Swords’ second-career goal in the first minute, both teams were shut out for nine minutes.
Florida entered the final 15 minutes of the match with a 13-point lead. That lead would soon be cut to nine at the halfway mark. Florida had gotten comfortable, and the Aztecs had scored four unanswered goals in nine minutes and were looking to at least stop the clock from running.
But the momentum could only push them so far. Florida had had enough of sitting idly by and scored three goals in the final three minutes of the match to take the win.
Florida steamrolled past the Aztecs in draw controls, winning 18 to San Diego’s eight, which gave the Gators ample opportunity to capitalize on their earned offensive possessions. Senior defender Jenny Woodings won nine draw controls for Florida.
The Gators also outshot SDSU, taking 32 shots to the Aztecs' 20. Davies was the day’s leading scorer with four goals in the match, followed by Hamilton with three goals and two assists. Hahn led the team in assists with four and two goals.
One area where Florida was outdone by SDSU, however, was in turnovers. The Gators committed 11 turnovers, seven of which were caused by San Diego State, while Florida caused five of the Aztecs' nine turnovers.
The Gators also continue to work on their ground ball recovery, a point of emphasis over the last few games. Florida was able to recover seven ground balls to San Diego’s five. Junior defender Ashley Dyer led UF with two recovered ground balls.
In the cage, freshman Susan Radebaugh got the start. She had three saves and allowed one goal on seven shots in over 35 minutes on the field.
Freshman Maya Soskin was then subbed in, and she struggled during her window. She allowed five goals and had three saves in just over 18 minutes of play. Finally, graduate student Paige Crowther had her time in the cage, where she had one save and allowed no goals in six minutes of play.
The Gators will travel back home to host Jacksonville at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
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.
