BOX SCORE
VILLANOVA, Pa. – The University of Florida won its third consecutive BIG EAST Championship presented by Jeep, topping the University of Denver, 18-12, on Saturday afternoon at Villanova Stadium. The top-seeded Gators become the first BIG EAST women's lacrosse team to three-peat, clinching the conference’s NCAA Tournament automatic bid. Florida was led by senior attacker Mollie Stevens, who matched the championship record with 10 goals in two tournament games to be named the championship’s Most Outstanding Player.
The Gators jumped out to a 6-1 lead over the first 12 minutes against the third-seeded Pioneers, including two goals and an assist by Stevens during that span. Denver responded with a pair of scores to narrow the gap at 6-3 with 14:06 left in the first, before Florida went on a 5-0 spurt to balloon its lead to eight goals. Julia Feiss scored with under two minutes remaining to narrow the Pioneers’ gap back to seven, 11-4, at the break.
After Florida opened the second period scoring three of the first four goals, including another from Stevens, Denver went on a four-goal run with Emily Conway burying a pair of scores. The Pioneers got within five, 14-9, with 15:30 left, before the Gators responded with another four-goal streak. Denver threatened again with a trio of scores with under 10 minutes to play, but was held off the scoreboard for the final three minutes as Florida preserved its six-goal advantage.
Stevens finished with her second consecutive five-goal outing, adding a pair of assists and six draw controls. Sammi Burgess, Lindsey Ronbeck and Sydney Pirreca all notched hat tricks as Florida broke its own tournament record for total goals with 39 over two games. The record previously held by the Gators was 38 from the 2015 BIG EAST Championship.
Feiss scored five goals for Denver while Conway scored four times. Denver’s Maddy Stevenson and Florida’s Haley Hicklen each notched 12 saves. Feiss, Conway and Thursday night’s hero Caitlin Derry garnered All-Tournament Team honors for the Pioneers. Hicklen, Burgess, Ronbeck, Stevens and Caroline Fitzgerald earned the recognition for Florida. Georgetown’s Taylor Gebhardt and Francesca Whitehurst, and Temple’s Brenda McDermott and Morgan Glassford were also honored.
Earning its seventh NCAA Championship berth, Florida learns its opponent and destination on Sunday night. The NCAA Selection Show is set for 9 p.m. (ET) on NCAA.com. Denver will hope for an at-large selection, showing a 14-4 record, including a pair of top-30 wins and three of the four losses being to top-10 RPI teams. The Gators head to the NCAAs 17-2 overall having been ranked in the top three of both national polls for 10 straight weeks.
BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Player
Mollie Stevens, Florida, A
BIG EAST All-Tournament Team
Haley Hicklen, Florida, GK
Sammi Burgess, Florida, A
Caroline Fitzgerald, Florida, D
Lindsey Ronbeck, Florida, A
Mollie Stevens, Florida, A
Caitlin Derry, Denver, A
Julia Feiss, Denver, A
Emily Conway, Denver, M
Brenda McDermott, Temple A
Morgan Glassford, Temple, M
Taylor Gebhardt, Georgetown, A
Francesca Whitehurst, Georgetown, M