Top Seed Florida, No. 3 Seed Denver Advance To #BIGEASTwlax Final
Gators defeat fourth-seeded Marquette 19-8, Pioneers knock off second-seeded Georgetown 12-7; Florida, Denver to meet in title game for second straight year.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The BIG EAST Women’s Lacrosse Championship presented by Jeep got under way on Thursday at Florida’s Donald R. Dizney Stadium with the Semifinals. Top-seeded Florida defeated fourth-seeded Marquette, 19-8, in the day’s first game before No. 3 seed Denver upset No. 2 seed Georgetown, 12-7. The Gators and Pioneers will meet in the title game for the second consecutive year on Saturday at noon ET with the game airing on FS2. Saturday’s winner earns the BIG EAST’s automatic bid into the 2018 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship.
No. 1 Florida 19, No. 4 Marquette 8
The BIG EAST Championship record book was attacked in the day’s first semifinal with nine different standards matched or broken. Florida’s Lindsey Ronbeck scored a record eight goals, matching the single-half mark with five in the first, while stretching her career tourney total to a record 19. Marquette goalkeeper Jules Horning had a hand in a trio of marks, including single-half saves (13), single-game saves (17) and ground balls in a game (8). Cara Trombetta led the Florida defense with a single-game record five caused turnovers. Team records broken included 14 CT for the Gators, 17 team saves for Marquette, and Florida’s seven-game BIG EAST Championship winning streak.
Separated by no more than three over the first 25 minutes of the contest, the reigning champion Gators went on a 6-0 run between the 4:41 mark in the first half through the 27:15 mark of the second to lead 13-4. The lead grew to double-digits with 22:16 left despite Horning’s impressive play, and would remain that way until the final horn. Shayna Pirreca added six points off four goals and two assists, while Sabrina Cristodero had a game-high 11 draw controls. Riley Hill sparked the Marquette offense with two goals and two assists, while Allison Lane had an assist, eight draws and two caused turnovers.
The Gators advance to their fourth consecutive BIG EAST Championship Final and will look to become the first team in league history to win four titles, both consecutively and overall.
No. 3 Denver 12, No. 2 Georgetown 7
The reign of the No. 3 seed over the No. 2 seed continued for a fourth consecutive BIG EAST Championship as the Pioneers knocked off the Hoyas in the BIG EAST Semifinals for the second straight year. Denver used a pair of five-goal runs to ward off Georgetown, which now has to wait to see if it earned an at-large selection into the NCAA Championship.
The Hoyas struck first, 3:40 into the game, before Denver scored five straight goals, including two apiece by Quintin Hoch-Bullen and Elizabeth Behrins. Georgetown closed the half with three straight goals to close the gap to one, 5-4. Behrins picked up where she left off in the first, scoring the second half’s first goal before Molly Little added another. Georgetown responded with a 3-0 run ending at the 22:03 mark, knotting the game for the first time since the opening draw. The Pioneer defense hunkered down, however, keeping Georgetown off the scoreboard for the remainder of the contest while scoring five goals of their own to clinch their second straight BIG EAST title game berth. Behrins finished with five points (4g, 1a), despite Georgetown’s Haelle Chomo making a career-high 15 saves. Carson Gregg made 10 saves for Denver, the sixth time this season she’s racked up double-digit denials. Natalia Lynch had 10 draw controls and a goal for Georgetown.
Denver meets Florida in the title game for the second year in a row. The Gators won last season’s showdown in Villanova, Pa., 18-12, with the six-goal margin being the most narrow in Florida’s three-year championship run. The Gators won the regular-season meeting between the squads, 18-13, on April 21.
BIG EAST Women’s Lacrosse Championship presented by Jeep
Donald R. Dizney Stadium
University of Florida - Gainesville, Fla.
Semifinals - Thursday, May 3
No. 1 seed Florida 19, No. 4 seed Marquette 8*
No. 3 seed Denver 12, No. 2 seed Georgetown 7*
Final - Saturday, May 5
No. 1 seed Florida vs. No. 3 seed Denver, Noon^
*BEDN
^FS2
All times Eastern