New lacrosse mom here as my HS sophomore just took the sport up this season. It
is really growing in popularity, or maybe I'm just more aware of it, but I see
all kinds of youth league stickers and even kids carrying around lacrosse
sticks than ever before. It is a lot of fun to watch, sort of a cross between
soccer and hockey if you haven't watched a game yet. I'm still learning the
rules and I figure a few more things out every time I watch a game. It is a
club sport, not affiliated with his HS, and has players from three area HS on
the team; but the league they play in is comprised of some HS teams, including
Summerlin Academy (a magnet school that is part of Bartow HS), Lakewood Ranch
in Bradenton, several of the new Tampa area HS, and even a team from Ocala, all
more experienced than our team, who was beaten pretty soundly. Still, my son
seems to really like it, and now that we are over the initial shock of the
equipment investment ;-) (thankfully, not as bad as hockey) we are enjoying it
as well. One of the things I like about it best is you don't have to be a big,
oversized athlete to play - one of our best players is tiny (they call him
Flea). it is a game of speed and endurance so size isn't always an advantage.
I haven't been able to catch the lady Gators LAX team play yet, but I want to.
Even the parents in our youth organization were mentioning their success, and I
got the feeling a mom in a Nole t-shirt was a little envious. '-D The stadium
is on the route we take to parking for UF activities, so we have been very
impressed with the facilities while they were being built. I read that some
visiting northern team's coaches are making them change in the hotels because
they don't want their players to see how nice the locker rooms and other
amenities provided really are. That's impressive, and so their record and
ranking in just their second year.
Like Helen, I can't believe the girls don't wear helmets, that's the first
purchase we were required to make. It is a bit of a rough sport, you can pretty
much tackle the ball handler or whack them with your stick, as long as it's not
above the shoulders, but the injuries seems to be mostly of the sprained ankle
variety, at least what I've seen so far. Still, no way would I want my daughter
playing without a helmet!
Anyway, if you get a chance to go see them, I guarantee you will fall in love
with the game.
:D
----- Original Message -----
From: Helen Huntley
To: gatortalk
Sent: Thursday, March 10, 2011 10:40 AM
Subject: [gatortalk] Lacrosse
I happened upon this game last night on Sunshine and it was interesting to
learn something about this sport, which I had never watched before.
The ball is so small and usually concealed in a net, so it's not always easy
to tell who actually has the ball. But it was neat to watch them pass and I
liked the fact that the Gators have bright orange nets, which makes them easier
to see. The Gator uniforms are neat too--much better than the Hoya uniforms.
The girls do a lot of running and play behind the net as well as in front of
it. The wear goggles, but they probably should be wearing helmets too. There
was one head-to-head collision that I saw, which was a little scary.
Wednesday March 9, 2011No. 14 Florida Lacrosse Pulls Upset Bid on No. 9
Georgetown, 17-10
Gainesville, Fla.
a.. Print
b.. Share
The No. 14 Florida lacrosse team upset No. 9 Georgetown, 17-10, on a rainy
Wednesday evening at Donald R. Dizney Stadium. The victory over the Hoyas marks
the first-ever defeat of a top-10 ranked opponent in program history. The
Gators are now riding a five-game winning streak, the longest in program
history.
An hour-long weather delay due to heavy rains and lightning in the area
paused the game directly after back-to-back goals by Caroline Cochran
(Annapolis, Md.), stopping play with 17:35 remaining in the second half.
“This was a huge win for us,” Florida head coach Amanda O’Leary said.
“Georgetown is a premier program and is NCAA Tournament-bound year-after-year.
Their coach is the head coach for the U.S. National Team, so Georgetown is
obviously very well-coached and incredibly prepared. For our team to come out
and play the way they did, I couldn’t be more proud.”
Florida was led by sophomore midfielders Kitty Cullen (Rockville, Md.) and
Brittany Dashiell (Bel Air, Md.) with four goals apiece. Sophomore attacker
Ashley Bruns contributed four points, as she found the back of the net three
times and assisted on a Dashiell score in the second half.
The Gators had a total team effort as Florida saw seven players score for the
third-straight game. Janine Hillier (Farmingdale, N.Y.) and Cochran each netted
two for the Gators while Caroline Chesterman (South Nyack, N.Y.) notched a goal
for Florida. Freshman Krista Grabher (Vero Beach, Fla.) scored her first-ever
goal in the Orange and Blue, sparking a three-goal run for the Gators late in
the second half after play had resumed.
Georgetown’s Jacqueline Giles scored early in the evening for Georgetown’s
only lead of the game before Cullen went on a three-game run to put Florida
ahead 3-1. Georgetown answered back with two goals of their own to tie the game
with 17 minutes remaining in the half. Florida went on a four-goal run sparked
by Chesterman’s lone goal of the evening, a spinning shot from the left side of
the crease.
Georgetown scored again to put the Hoyas back on the board but goals by
Dashiell and Bruns put the Gators ahead 9-4. Bruns was fed by sophomore
defender Haydon Judge (Chestertown, Md.), notching her second-career assist.
Hillier’s goal with 35 ticks remaining in the first half gave the Gators a
10-5 advantage heading into the second half, but without leading scorer Cullen,
as she was given two yellow cards against the Hoyas and was suspended for the
final 30:18 of the contest.
Florida could have backed away from the challenge of defeating a top-10
opponent without their leading scorer, but the Gators were prepared for the
challenge. The Orange and Blue used the second half as an opportunity to come
together as a team and cut down on errors and make effective use of their speed
on offense. The Gators scored on seven of 13 shots (.538) in the second half
and took full advantage of their strength on the draw, winning 11 out of 13
draw controls in the second half.
Georgetown scored the first two goals of the second stanza before Dashiell
scored from Bruns to put the Gators ahead, 11-7. Cochran scored back-to-back
goals, including a shot on an open net, to put Florida ahead, 13-7, as the
referees decided to call for a weather delay.
“It was really an all-around effort for our team,” Cochran said. “We really
wanted to win. We were ready to get back out there (after the rain delay).”
Out of the delay, Georgetown once again found the back of the net twice, but
Grabher stepped up in Cullen’s absence, cutting through the defense and finding
the back of the net with just 7:39 remaining in the contest. Dashiell scored on
a free position shot before Bruns found the back of the net, thanks to a great
look from Colby Rhea (Abington, Md.). Georgetown scored one final time with 45
seconds remaining before Dashiell scored off a perfect pass from sophomore
midfielder Jamie Reeg (Atlantis, Fla.) to seal the Gators’ victory with nine
seconds remaining in the game.
Florida is in the middle of a nine-game homestand. The Gators return to the
field on Saturday afternoon at 1:00p.m. to take on the Temple Owls. Fans can
listen on www.GatorZone.com and WRUF SportsRadio 850 with Andrew Suarez on the
call.
--
Helen Huntley
(727) 823-3801
www.helenhuntley.com
--
GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY!
1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions
2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions
2008 National Football Champions |
Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996),
Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
--
GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY!
1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions
2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions
2008 National Football Champions |
Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996),
Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
