W.Lax chased away by tough Gator squad

Third-ranked University of Florida used scoring runs of 7-1 and 7-2 to pull away from 17th-ranked Hopkins Saturday afternoon in American Lacrosse Conference action at Disney Stadium.

The Gators moved to 14-1, while the Blue Jays fell to 7-5. The Gators’ 19-9 win marked their fourth straight in the series against Hopkins.

It took a little while for each team to get going until the 23:21 mark where in an 87 second span Hopkins and the Gators traded goals. Shannon Gilroy put Florida on the board first as the Gators scored off a failed clear by Hopkins.

Freshman Jenna Reifler responded for the Jays when she caught a Taylor D'Amore pass in traffic and buried a laser shot inside the right post.

Ashley Bruns broke the tie with back-to-back goals that sparked a 7-1 run by the Gators and gave the host team an 8-2 lead with 11:19 to play in the half.

Bruns put Florida on top, 2-1, at 22:58 after Kitty Cullen drew a free position where Cullen passed on the shot, dishing it to Bruns, who was open on the left post for the score. Bruns then scored from in close despite the Gators playing a man down. Gabbi Wiegand and Cullen followed with goals just 11 seconds apart to push the lead to four.

Sophomore Jenna Kasmarik got one back for the Blue Jays at 17:28 with the first goal of Kasmarik’s career high three goals.

Junior Sarah Taylor dumped the ball down to Kasmarik, then weaved through several defenders, and snuck a shot over the left shoulder of Mikey Meagher.

Gilroy, Cullen and Bruns answered with three straight and the lead grew to six with 11:19 to go in the half.

Junior Sammy Cermack ended the Gators' run with a shot at the 1:15 mark. The Blue Jays then trimmed the deficit in half at the break with an accidental goal as the clock ticked under a minute.

A Gator defender came up with the ground ball off a Meagher save, but when she attempted to pass the ball back, Meagher missed the pass and the ball ended up in the cage. Florida would take an 8-4 lead into the half.

The second half started relatively the same way, as the two teams traded goals from Caroline Chesterman and Sammy Cermack.

Bruns scored at the 24:01 mark to ignite a 7-2 run by Florida, which ultimately Hopkins could never recover from. Following three straight goals from the Gators, the Jays got back-to-back goals from Kasmarik and freshman Dene' DiMartino to make it a five-goal game with 14:40 remaining.

Kasmarik scored on free position, her second of the season, while DiMartino dodged hard down the left alley, split a pair of defenders, and scored from close range. Florida answered this last ditch effort however with four straight goals to push out to a 17-7 lead with just 8:22 to play.

Reifler and Kasmarik then followed a pair of Gator goals to account for the final score. From left goal line extended, D'Amore found Reifler open in the slot and she shot the pass home for her second of the day. Wiegand and Nicole Graziano tacked on goals for Florida before Kasmarik closed out the scoring for the game. With 11.1 seconds left on the clock, Kasmarik finished her hat-trick with a pass from D’Amore.

D'Amore finished with a game-high three assists and needs one more to reach 90 and become just the fifth player all-time in program history to reach the mark.

D'Amore also extended her point streak to 33 straight games, the fourth longest in school history.

Kasmarik became the sixth different Hopkins player this season to notch a hat trick. Senior co-captain Cosette Larash took the loss and finished with two saves, while sophomore KC Emerson played 31:21 in relief and made six saves on the day.

Hopkins, with the 19th hardest schedule in the country, has endured a tough stretch lately, losing three of four, but the stingy competition has been good preparation for the end of the year and the ALC tournament hosted at Homewood Field.

On Thurs., April 11, the Blue Jays will travel to Charlottesville, Va. to take on the 11th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers.

Opening draw at Klockner Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m.