Syracuse Gets Stunned in Gainesville, Loses 14-10 to Florida
By: Ian Nicholas | @IanNicholas25
CitrusTV Women’s Lacrosse Beat Reporter
Gainesville, FL – No. 3 Syracuse (6-2, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) dropped the second leg of its three game road trip against No. 13 Florida (3-4, 0-0 American Athletic Conference). SU trailed the entire way, and by as much as seven after three quarters of play. Florida jumped out to a 6-0 lead to start, and Syracuse wouldn’t make it interesting until late; scoring four of the game’s last five goals. UF was led by a pair of New Yorkers in Northport’s Danielle Pavinelli and Manhasset’s Emma LoPinto. The underclassmen tallied six points each, as Pavinelli netted four goals and LoPinto dished-out four assists. Redshirt Junior Kimber Hower started her third straight game for the Orange in goal, but would be pulled for Junior Delaney Sweitzer three minutes into the second quarter after allowing seven goals against one save. Sweitzer surrendered seven goals as well, but also blocked three shots. Together, the duo allowed 14 of 18 shots on goal to find twine. Inside the other crease, All-American redshirt sophomore Sarah Reznick looked the part for the Gators, stuffing 11 shots with a .524 save percentage. Florida improved to 21-1 when Reznick compiled a save percentage of 50 percent or better.
UF won its first game against a ranked opponent (1-4) in 2022; and secured just its second home victory over a top-five team in the last half a decade. The Gators were motivated, looking to avenge a 17-11 loss to the Orange in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals a season ago. In that win, then-freshman Emma Ward scored a career-high six goals. SU could’ve used the injured sophomore today, as its top two goal-scorers combined for only five scores. Graduate student Emily Hawryschuk had a hat trick and an assist, while junior Emma Tyrrell finished with a pair of goals.
The Orange’s schedule has been amongst the toughest in the nation, with seven of its first eight opponents having been ranked inside the top-20. This latest loss serves as SU’s first defeat against a team ranked outside the top-10 in 2022. The last time that happened was February 2020, when Syracuse lost its home opener to No. 12 Stony Brook. Kayla Treanor’s team has a chance to regroup and make sure that doesn’t happen again in Blacksburg on Saturday, when playing a conference foe in No. 24 Virginia Tech (7-3, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). The Hokies are on a five-game win streak, including a 13-12 triumph over then No. 15 Notre Dame on March 10. Opening draw from Thompson Field is at 1pm.
