Monaco Scores Game Winning Goal, No. 5 Florida Defeats No. 11 Johns Hopkins 12-11 in Opening Game Thriller. Gianna Monaco scored the game winning goal with 17 seconds remaining, as the Gators erased a two goal fourth quarter deficit.
BALTIMORE, Md. - Trailing 11-9 with 5:59 to play in the game, the No. 5 Florida lacrosse team erased a two-goal fourth quarter deficit, concluded by a Gianna Monaco goal with 17 seconds remaining to push past No. 11 Johns Hopkins by a score of 12-11.
The game featured five ties and five lead changes. Eight different Gators scored, led by Kaitlyn Davies who tied a career high three goals. Transfers Jordan Basso and Jenny Markey notched two goals apiece, followed by single goals from Clark Hamilton, Gabbi Koury, Ava Tighe, Frannie Hahn and Monaco. Florida won the assists battle 6-4, as Hahn logged two, followed by one each from Basso, Koury, Tighe and Monaco.
UF's defense was up for the task today, winning the caused turnovers (10-7) and ground balls battle (16-15). Eight different players recorded a ground ball and six different players caused a turnover, led by Theresa Bragg with three of each. Ashley Dyer (three ground balls, two caused turnovers), Celeste Forte (two caused ground balls, two caused turnovers), Georgia Hoey (three ground balls) and Gabby Greene (two ground balls) all tallied 2 or more ground balls/caused turnovers in the win.
Despite being outshot 37-19, The Gators held the Blue Jays to a stifling 29.7 shooting from the field. Georgia Hoey made a career high 10 saves in the contest, including four in the third quarter.
Freshman Riley Zusi scooped two draw controls, battling for the Gators in the draw circle in the second half. Koury logged two, along with one from Davies, Basso, Cali Bishop and Chiara Scichilone.
How It Happened
First Quarter
* The Gators got on the board first, scoring two goals in the first five minutes. Tighe connected on a score around the crease assisted by Hahn with 12:16 left, followed by Davies coming down the alley and ripping it into the top left corner to make it 2-0 Florida with 10:40 remaining.
* Hopkins got on the board at the 8:43 mark, answered by the Gators 90 seconds later on the man-up advantage, as Koury fed a cutting Davies on who found the back of the cage to give UF a 3-1 lead with 7:13 remaining. Neither team would score the rest of the quarter with Florida holding a 3-1 advantage after one.
Second Quarter
* Hopkins kicked off the scoring 16 seconds in, before Basso launched a dime into the pocket of Markey for the finish in front of the net. UF led 4-2 with 12:59 to play.
* It was a tale of runs to end the half, as the Blue Jays scored four consecutive goals in a 5:01 span to take a 6-4 lead. Florida answered with two straight goals to end the half. Davies scored her third of the game off a pass from Tighe and Markey tallied her second of the game off Frannie Hahn's second assist of the game to tie it up at 6-6 heading into half.
Third Quarter
* The Blue Jays opened up the scoring 29 seconds in on the man-up advantage to give them a 7-6 lead.
* The Gators answered once again with two goals to end the quarter. Off a Hoey save, Koury leaked out and took it down the length of the field and found
pay dirt to tie it up with 13:24 remaining.
* 53 seconds later, Monaco drew a charge in the attacking zone, leading to a free-position shot where she fed Hahn around the crease who scored her first career goal to make it 8-7. Neither team would score the rest of the quarter, as UF took an 8-7 lead heading into the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
* The Blue Jays scored two goals in the first 2:22, as they connected first on a man-down score, followed by a free-position goal to put them up 9-8 with 12:38 left.
* Freshman Clark Hamilton seemingly tied the game up on a bounce shot with 9:38 left, but the goal was disallowed for her stick pocket being too deep. Hopkins then tacked on another goal to make it 10-8 with 8:08 left.
* Basso carved her way up around the crease and scored to make it a one goal game, followed by a Hopkins score to give them an 11-9 lead with 5:59 to play.
* With 3:21 left, Basso scored her second goal of the day to cut the Hopkins lead to one. Kaitlyn Davies went on to win a huge draw control on the next play, leading to Clark Hamilton scoring her first collegiate goal with 2:42 left to tie it at 11.
* On the next Hopkins possession, Dyer caused a turnover and scooped the ground ball with 1:04 left, giving them the opportunity to hold for the final shot.
* After a timeout, Monaco was able to draw shooting space with 20 seconds remaining, before scoring the game winning free-position goal with 17 seconds left.
* After winning the next draw control, the Blue Jays had a chance to tie the game, but Koury caused a turnover and Hoey scooped the ground ball to conclude the 12-11 victory.
Key Notes
* The Gators improve to 10-6 all-time in season openers and 8-1 against Johns Hopkins
* Florida move to 3-0 at Homewood field against the Blue Jays, with all three victories coming one goal each
* The Gators improve to 24-16 all-time in one goal games
* Kaitlyn Davies totaled her second career hat-trick
* Frannie Hahn recorded her first collegiate goal and point in today's victory
* Clark Hamilton scored her first career collegiate goal, while becoming the first African American athlete to score in Florida lacrosse history
* Chiara Scichilone and Riley Zusi each recorded their first collegiate draw control
* Gabby Greene scooped her first career collegiate ground ball
* Jordan Basso and Jenny Markey each earned their first career points/goals as Gators
* For the first time since 2021, Florida had multiple freshman in the starting lineup on opening day
Active Streaks
Jordan Basso: points (75), goals (9), assists (8), ground balls (6)
Gianna Monaco: points (18)
Ashley Dyer: ground balls (5)
Career Highs
Georgia Hoey had a career high 10 saves
Gabbi Koury had a career high two draw controls
Kaitlyn Davies tied a career high three goals
Celeste Forte tied a career high two ground balls and two caused turnovers
Coach O'Leary Insight
"I'm really just proud of our team. This John's Hopkins team is tremendous. We knew coming in that this game was going to be a challenge [Tim McCormack] does such a great job, obviously [Dorrien Van Dyke] and [Nicole Graziano] played for us, so we knew their staff was going to put together a great game plan. Their team executed, I think our team executed and I think for fans, it was just a fun game to watch."
Next Up
The Gators resume play on Sunday at 11 a.m. against Kennesaw State in their home opener. Action can be found on ESPN+.
BALTIMORE, Md. - Trailing 11-9 with 5:59 to play in the game, the No. 5 Florida lacrosse team erased a two-goal fourth quarter deficit, concluded by a Gianna Monaco goal with 17 seconds remaining to push past No. 11 Johns Hopkins by a score of 12-11.
The game featured five ties and five lead changes. Eight different Gators scored, led by Kaitlyn Davies who tied a career high three goals. Transfers Jordan Basso and Jenny Markey notched two goals apiece, followed by single goals from Clark Hamilton, Gabbi Koury, Ava Tighe, Frannie Hahn and Monaco. Florida won the assists battle 6-4, as Hahn logged two, followed by one each from Basso, Koury, Tighe and Monaco.
UF's defense was up for the task today, winning the caused turnovers (10-7) and ground balls battle (16-15). Eight different players recorded a ground ball and six different players caused a turnover, led by Theresa Bragg with three of each. Ashley Dyer (three ground balls, two caused turnovers), Celeste Forte (two caused ground balls, two caused turnovers), Georgia Hoey (three ground balls) and Gabby Greene (two ground balls) all tallied 2 or more ground balls/caused turnovers in the win.
Despite being outshot 37-19, The Gators held the Blue Jays to a stifling 29.7 shooting from the field. Georgia Hoey made a career high 10 saves in the contest, including four in the third quarter.
Freshman Riley Zusi scooped two draw controls, battling for the Gators in the draw circle in the second half. Koury logged two, along with one from Davies, Basso, Cali Bishop and Chiara Scichilone.
How It Happened
First Quarter
* The Gators got on the board first, scoring two goals in the first five minutes. Tighe connected on a score around the crease assisted by Hahn with 12:16 left, followed by Davies coming down the alley and ripping it into the top left corner to make it 2-0 Florida with 10:40 remaining.
* Hopkins got on the board at the 8:43 mark, answered by the Gators 90 seconds later on the man-up advantage, as Koury fed a cutting Davies on who found the back of the cage to give UF a 3-1 lead with 7:13 remaining. Neither team would score the rest of the quarter with Florida holding a 3-1 advantage after one.
Second Quarter
* Hopkins kicked off the scoring 16 seconds in, before Basso launched a dime into the pocket of Markey for the finish in front of the net. UF led 4-2 with 12:59 to play.
* It was a tale of runs to end the half, as the Blue Jays scored four consecutive goals in a 5:01 span to take a 6-4 lead. Florida answered with two straight goals to end the half. Davies scored her third of the game off a pass from Tighe and Markey tallied her second of the game off Frannie Hahn's second assist of the game to tie it up at 6-6 heading into half.
Third Quarter
* The Blue Jays opened up the scoring 29 seconds in on the man-up advantage to give them a 7-6 lead.
* The Gators answered once again with two goals to end the quarter. Off a Hoey save, Koury leaked out and took it down the length of the field and found
pay dirt to tie it up with 13:24 remaining.
* 53 seconds later, Monaco drew a charge in the attacking zone, leading to a free-position shot where she fed Hahn around the crease who scored her first career goal to make it 8-7. Neither team would score the rest of the quarter, as UF took an 8-7 lead heading into the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
* The Blue Jays scored two goals in the first 2:22, as they connected first on a man-down score, followed by a free-position goal to put them up 9-8 with 12:38 left.
* Freshman Clark Hamilton seemingly tied the game up on a bounce shot with 9:38 left, but the goal was disallowed for her stick pocket being too deep. Hopkins then tacked on another goal to make it 10-8 with 8:08 left.
* Basso carved her way up around the crease and scored to make it a one goal game, followed by a Hopkins score to give them an 11-9 lead with 5:59 to play.
* With 3:21 left, Basso scored her second goal of the day to cut the Hopkins lead to one. Kaitlyn Davies went on to win a huge draw control on the next play, leading to Clark Hamilton scoring her first collegiate goal with 2:42 left to tie it at 11.
* On the next Hopkins possession, Dyer caused a turnover and scooped the ground ball with 1:04 left, giving them the opportunity to hold for the final shot.
* After a timeout, Monaco was able to draw shooting space with 20 seconds remaining, before scoring the game winning free-position goal with 17 seconds left.
* After winning the next draw control, the Blue Jays had a chance to tie the game, but Koury caused a turnover and Hoey scooped the ground ball to conclude the 12-11 victory.
Key Notes
* The Gators improve to 10-6 all-time in season openers and 8-1 against Johns Hopkins
* Florida move to 3-0 at Homewood field against the Blue Jays, with all three victories coming one goal each
* The Gators improve to 24-16 all-time in one goal games
* Kaitlyn Davies totaled her second career hat-trick
* Frannie Hahn recorded her first collegiate goal and point in today's victory
* Clark Hamilton scored her first career collegiate goal, while becoming the first African American athlete to score in Florida lacrosse history
* Chiara Scichilone and Riley Zusi each recorded their first collegiate draw control
* Gabby Greene scooped her first career collegiate ground ball
* Jordan Basso and Jenny Markey each earned their first career points/goals as Gators
* For the first time since 2021, Florida had multiple freshman in the starting lineup on opening day
Active Streaks
Jordan Basso: points (75), goals (9), assists (8), ground balls (6)
Gianna Monaco: points (18)
Ashley Dyer: ground balls (5)
Career Highs
Georgia Hoey had a career high 10 saves
Gabbi Koury had a career high two draw controls
Kaitlyn Davies tied a career high three goals
Celeste Forte tied a career high two ground balls and two caused turnovers
Coach O'Leary Insight
"I'm really just proud of our team. This John's Hopkins team is tremendous. We knew coming in that this game was going to be a challenge [Tim McCormack] does such a great job, obviously [Dorrien Van Dyke] and [Nicole Graziano] played for us, so we knew their staff was going to put together a great game plan. Their team executed, I think our team executed and I think for fans, it was just a fun game to watch."
Next Up
The Gators resume play on Sunday at 11 a.m. against Kennesaw State in their home opener. Action can be found on ESPN+.
