GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 23 University of Pennsylvania women's lacrosse team pushed No. 8 Florida to the brink on Saturday afternoon in the Sunshine State, taking a tied game into the final quarter before the Gators earned the 17-13 decision.
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The Quakers move to 5-4 for the season, with all four losses coming to top-25 ranked opponents, while the Gators shift to 8-3.
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Quaker Notemeal
*Senior
Niki Miles and junior
Maria Themelis led the team with four goals each.
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*It's the fifth time this season Miles has scored at least three times, while continuing her scoring streak this year in all nine contests.
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*Themelis matched her career high in goals, as it's the second time in three games with a four-goal performance and seventh straight game with a finish. She has recorded at least a point in all nine games.
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*Sophomore
Anna Brandt kept the hot hand with a hat trick of goals, the fifth game this season with at least three goals, fourth straight. She leads the team with 27 goals through nine games.
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*Sophomore defender
Natasha Gorriaran also joined in on the scoring, finding the back of the net on a successful clear for her first goal of the season, fifth of her career.
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*Sophomore
Paige Lipman, who scored her first two collegiate goals of her career last Sunday against Georgetown, added her third on Saturday.
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*Senior
Kelly Van Hoesen had a stellar game in net, racking up 11 saves to bring her season total to 65. It's the second time this season she has pulled in double-digit saves, the other coming against Maryland with 12.
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*The Quakers outshot the Gators, 35-33, while Penn went 3-for-7 from the free-position.
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*Florida won the draw game, 22-12, but it was much closer in the second half, 11-10, in favor of the Gators. Brandt led the Quakers with five draw controls.
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How It Happened
Penn earned the early energy with a goal in the opening three minutes by Brandt on a free-position goal, however, Florida responded with three straight goals to take a lead that held until midway through the second quarter.
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Late in the first, Miles put away her first of the day to slow the run by the Gators but they scored once more before the end of the frame, as Florida took a 4-2 advantage into the next quarter.
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Over the course of eight minutes, the Quakers chipped away at the two-goal deficit. Themelis scored first, then Miles followed three minutes later to draw the game even at 4-4. The draw would be short lived, as the Gators fired off three straight to closeout the half and opened the third quarter with a fourth to take an 8-4 lead at the 10:51 mark.
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The rest of the third quarter played heavily in favor of the Quakers. Miles secured her hat trick to start up some momentum for Penn, although Florida answered shortly after. The first was slowly building for the Quakers following the Gator finish, rattling off three straight over less than two minutes to get within one, 9-8. Brandt scored twice and Gorriaran added her scoring touch in the stretch.
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Florida slowed down the Quaker run on a woman-up goal with 4:29 left in the quarter to push its advantage back out to two, but Penn wasn't shook by it. Before the end of the frame, Miles and Themelis each added another to draw the game even at 10-10 headed to the fourth.
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Unfortunately, the final quarter saw the Gators outscore the Quakers, 7-3, to push a lead that was hard to overcome. Themelis scored twice in the quarter, while Lipman added the final goal of the game off a dish from
Erika Chung.
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Up Next
The Quakers will head back to Pennsylvania but remain on the road for their next game, making the short trek to Lehigh on Tuesday. Penn owns an 8-5 all-time record against Lehigh, including a two-game win streak. First draw is set for 5 p.m., in Bethlehem.
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