BALTIMORE – Tenth-ranked Florida scored six-straight goals between the second and third quarters Tuesday afternoon to overcome a two-goal Loyola University Maryland lead, and the Gators then held off a Greyhounds' charge to take a 17-13 non-conference victory at Ridley Athletic Complex.
Lauren Perfetto scored her second goal of the game with 1:28 to go in the second quarter, converting on a free-position shot to put the Greyhounds (1-2 overall) up, 10-8.
Clark Hamilton, however, responded for the Gators (1-1) with a goal 28 ticks before the break, and the teams went to halftime separated by just a goal.
Florida won the opening draw of the second half and got off four shots, three of which were saved by Loyola and another that went wide. Frannie Hahn capped the long possession with a goal off a Caroline Hoskins assist at 12:31, tying the score for the first time since it was 3-3 with less than three minutes to play in the first quarter.
The Gators added four more goals in succession over the next five minutes with a Hamilton tally pushing their lead to 14-10 with 7:56 left in the frame.
After that tally, however,
Elisa Faklaris broke through for the Greyhounds with a goal off an
Olivia Blanding assist at 7:21, kicking off a stretch of three in a row for Loyola.
Delaney Jackson scored on a free-position at 5:47, and
Morgan Ruhnke added a goal at 1:55 to pull the Greyhounds within one, 14-13.
Florida, however, scored the only three goals of the fourth quarter to secure the win.
Faklaris led Loyola with four goals and assist, and Ruhnke added three. Perfetto and
Mim Suares-Jury each scored twice, while Jackson and
Emma Talago had one each. Blanding and
Morgan Quade both had an assist.
Mae Murphy continued her excellent play on the draw circle, helping Loyola win 22 of 30 (73.3 percent). She had 16 draw controls, and
Anna Kaplan added four to go with a team-high three ground balls.
The Greyhounds will be back at Ridley on Saturday, February 21, for a 12 noon game against No. 9 Princeton.
