No. 5 Hoyas Hold Off Florida, 13-11

from press release

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The No. 5/6 Georgetown University women's lacrosse squad downed the University of Florida Gators (3-2), 13-11, Tuesday evening in Gainesville, Fla. Senior Molly Ford (Reisterstown, Md./Notre Dame Prep) led the way with five goals and one assist for six points in the game. The Hoyas are now 2-1 on the season with another road game on Saturday at Duke University.

The senior tandem of Ford and Ashby Kaestner (Trappe, Md./Saints Peter and Paul) started things off with a pair of goals. Florida managed one before Ford and classmate Bunny O'Reilly (Philadelphia, Pa./Springside) struck again.

The Gators cut the lead to two with 4:41 remaining in the half, but Ford came back with a pair of goals and an assist to freshman Sophia Thomas (Lutherville, Md./Maryvale Prep) making the score 10-5 at the break.

Both squads had 18 shots in the half as well as five saves and the Hoyas had two more ground balls (8-6). Georgetown managed 10 draw controls to the Gators' six.

"We moved the ball in the first half as well as we have all year, I believe we were 8-for-10 shooting," said Head Coach Ricky Fried.

The second half started out well with sophomore Jordy Kirr (Baltimore, Md./Bryn Mawr School) scoring less than two minutes in. However, the next few minutes belonged to the Gators who posted a four-goal run once again cutting the lead to two. Scores by junior Jacqueline Giles (Ellicott City, Md./Mount Hebron) and sophomore Erin Lovett (Wantagh, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) gave the Hoyas some breathing room, but two more Gator goals once again made it close leading into the final minutes.
 
After two goals made it 13-11, it looked as if Florida would continue its momentum. Instead, the Hoya defense buckled down and held on for the final three minutes make the score 13-11 at the whistle.

"I think we got complacent in the second half and didn't play with the same level of intensity as the first," said Fried. "But we were 100 percent on clears and (Caitlin) Formby played well again in goal."

Both teams managed 33 shots as well as 11 ground balls. Senior Caitlin Formby (Towson, Md./Notre Dame Prep) posted 10 saves in the game marking her second win of the season in the cage. The Hoyas had 14 draw controls to Florida's 12.

Georgetown will finish off its spring break road trip with a game at Duke University on Saturday at 1 p.m.