Swamp Secrets: How Florida built a lacrosse contender in the south
Former University of Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley had a vision of the Gators dominating college lacrosse. A little more than a decade later, the Gators are champing at the bit to win the program’s first national championship. May 14, 2021 | 1:14pm EDT Coach O Leary commands the huddle during a game on February 16, 2019 at Donald R. Dizney Stadium in Gainesville, FL / UAA Communications photo by Matt Stamey
Shannon Kavanagh and Kaitlyn Dabkowski rushed to the center of the field.
Both athletes were exhausted after beating Vanderbilt 22-9. Kavanagh scored seven times that afternoon. Dabkowski fortified a defense that didn’t allow the Commodores’ top scorers more than one goal.
Gators lacrosse heads to Old Dominion
Florida looks to close out conference play with a win April 23, 2021 | 1:32pm EDT Florida heads north to Norfolk, Virginia, for its first matchup in program history against the Old Dominion University Monarchs Friday. Photo from UF-Cincinnati game March 26. Photo by Grethel Aguila | The Independent Florida Alligator
Florida heads north to Norfolk, Virginia, for its first matchup in program history against the Old Dominion University Monarchs Friday.
The No. 10 Gators defied the weather twice for back-to-back wins against the Vanderbilt Commodores April 16 and 18.
UF sits on cloud nine after it clinched the regular-season conference championship. The Gators boast
Florida is coming off a series sweep of Vanderbilt in which the Gators secured the No. 1 seed in the AAC Tournament and at least a share of the AAC regular season champion- ship. Old Dominion is coming off of two losses to Cincinnati, in which the squad fell to the Bearcats 16-7 and 17-6.
The Gators and the Monarchs are meeting for the first time in program history as this is ODU’s first season as an affiliate member of the AAC.
With Florida’s win over Vanderbilt last weekend, the Gators clinched at least a share of the regular season American Athletic Conference Championship. With one win against the Monarchs, Florida will have secured the conference title outright.
Special report on the Florida Gators lacrosse team:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The ninth-ranked Florida lacrosse team got to hoist the American Athletic Conference regular season trophy after clinching at least a share of the championship with its 22-9 defeat of Vanderbilt on a rainy Sunday afternoon at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
With the victory, the Gators have now won the regular season conference championship both of their years in the AAC and have now won 10 regular season crowns across three conferences (ALC: 2011, ’12, ’13, ’14; BIG EAST: 2015, ’16, ’17, ’18; AAC: 2019, ’21).
Florida has also now won 38-straight regular season conference games, dating back to the start of conference play in the 2016 season.
Florida lacrosse prepares for top 20 matchup against Vanderbilt
The Gators hope to improve to 7-0 in the AAC.
The Gators look to stay in the win column versus the Vanderbilt Commodores Friday.
This marks the 13th matchup between the AAC foes. The last time they faced off was in May 2019 when UF defeated Vanderbilt 19-10.
No. 10 Florida was projected to clinch the conference championship with a roster full of all-conference and all-American threats. But No. 20 Vanderbilt sits at first in the conference and looks to pressure the orange and blue as they boast a 6-0 AAC record.
The Gators swept East Carolina April 1 and 3 on Thursday, which marked Florida’s 100th regular-season win at Donald R. Dizney Stadium. Similarly, the Commodores demolished the Old Dominion Monarchs in back-to-back double-digit wins.