The No. 5 Florida lacrosse team hits the field for the first time in 2012 Thursday evening to host the England National Team in an exhibition game at Donald R. Dizney Stadium. Opening draw is set for 6:30 p.m.
Florida finished the 2011 season with a 16-4 overall record, including going a perfect 5-0 in American Lacrosse Conference play to take the conference title away from Northwestern for the first time since 2004. Florida became the fastest program in poll history to enter the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) top 10, and on April 25, 2011, became the highest-ranked second-year program ever, earning the No. 2 spot.
After reaching their first ALC Championship game, (L, 10-9 to Northwestern), the Gators earned their first-ever NCAA Tournament bid, receiving the fourth overall seed. On May 14, UF hosted No. 7 Stanford in the first NCAA lacrosse tournament game ever to be held in the state of Florida, and picked up their first NCAA victory, 13-11. The Gators’ impressive season finally came to an end the following week, as they fell, 13-9, to No. 5 Duke in the Quarterfinals. Florida finished the year ranked No. 5 in the IWLCA final poll.
The Gators return 17 players from their record-breaking 2011 season, including 11 starters, while bringing in the No. 3 recruiting class in the nation, according to Inside Lacrosse magazine. Four new Gators were named to IL’s top-25 list; No. 6 Shannon Gilroy (Huntington, N.Y.), No. 12 Nicole Graziano (Mendham, N.J.), No. 15 Nora Barry (Marcellus, N.Y.) and No. 18 Sally Jentis (Ridgewood, N.J.); all of whom are expected to see significant playing time in 2012. Additionally, Taylor McCord (Jacksonville, Fla.) was named to the Freshman Watch List. The Gators also welcome freshmen Mikki Offit (Bethesda, Md.) and Maegan Meritz (Farmingdale, N.Y.), along with junior attacker Gabi Wiegand (Bay Shore, N.Y.), a transfer from the University of Richmond.
Among their returning players are All-Americans Kitty Cullen (Rockville, Md.), Sam Farrell (Millersville, Md.) and Ashley Bruns (Ellicott City, Md.), along with Second-Team All-ALC selections Haydon Judge (Chestertown, Md.) and Mikey Meagher (Liverpool, N.Y.). Cullen finished 2011 ranked second in the nation in both goals (77) and goals per game (3.86) and was fifth overall in points (86). Meagher ended the year ranked 10th in goals-against average (8.67), and Bruns ranked in the top 20 in points (16th, 74) and assists (18th, 28). As a team, Florida was seventh among the 92 Division I teams in winning percentage (.800), 10th in scoring margin (4.50), 12th in both scoring defense (8.95) and points (349) and 14th in scoring offense (13.45).
“We haven’t graduated anyone and we have a great group of freshmen that have come in and done a fantastic job of knowing our style and fitting into our style,” Head Coach Amanda O’Leary said. “We’re going to be the same team that we saw last year, and hopefully even a little bit better.”
Thursday’s contest against the England National Team marks the Gators’ first international competition. Although Florida has never played a national team before, all three of the Gators’ coaches have faced England as members of the U.S. National Team. Assistant Coaches Erica LaGrow and Caitlyn McFadden played against England in the 2009 FIL World Cup, winning 20-3 in the semifinals en route to a U.S. gold medal. The pair will take to the field once again Friday night with the U.S. Women’s Elite Team, as they take on England in the Champion Challenge at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando.
Coach O’Leary played against England in back-to-back World Cup finals in 1989 and 1993, as the Americans came out on top both times to bring home the gold.
“England is our first international competition ever, so we’re very, very excited to hit the field,” O’Leary said. “I think we’re just looking to see where we are at this point in time. We’ve been practicing for about two and a half weeks, so I think it’s going to be a good gauge as to where we are offensively.”
The England National Team embarks on its U.S. tour as preparation for the 2013 FIL World Cup in Canada. They won the Home Internationals tournament in April, 2011, defeating Scotland and Wales in decisive victories to earn the tournament sweep. Kirsten Lafferty of Birmingham University, who will face the Gators on Thursday, was named the Under 24 Player of the Series.
England medaled in six straight World Cups, from 1989 to 2005, but has yet to join the United States and Australia as the only two nations to have brought home the gold. The Red and White are currently ranked fourth in the world, heading into 2013.
Thursday’s game can be heard on Sportsradio 850 as well as streaming live on GatorZone.com, with Mike Gillespie on the call. LiveStats for the game can be found here, and be sure to follow @GatorZoneLAX on Twitter for live updates from the press box.
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