GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The sixth ranked Florida lacrosse team (6-2, 0-0 Big 12) earned their third straight win, defeating Mercer (3-5, 0-0 Big South) 22-9 on Saturday afternoon.

Florida led 9-5 at halftime, but outscored the Bears 8-1 in the third quarter to create separation. UF led by as many as 14 goals, setting season highs in goals (22), assists (10), points (32) and draw controls (24).

The Gators were led by the attack duo of Gianna Monaco and Clark Hamilton, who totaled five goals apiece. Kaitlyn Davies recorded three goals, Alyssa Deacy and Cate Isaacson each logged two scores, with one each from Gabby Greene, Frannie Hahn, Caylin Luciano, Ava Tighe, and Jenny Markey.

Chiara Scichilone won a career high four draw controls, in route to the orange and blue winning the draw control battle 24-9. Riley Zusi and Markey each corralled four, with three from Cali Bishop.

How It Happened

First Quarter

• The Gators came out hot, scoring three goals in the first four minutes. Davies scored the first two, off assists from Basso and Monaco, before Hamilton found the back of the net, making it 3-0 with 11:05 to play.
• Mercer answered with a goal before Monaco connected off the feed from Frannie Hahn, giving UF a 4-1 advantage with 8:11 remaining.
• The Bears connected on two goals, getting the lead down to one, but UF used another 3-0 run, courtesy of goals from Monaco, Hamilton and Monaco again to give the Gators a 7-3 lead after one.

Second Quarter

• Mercer kicked off the second quarter scoring around nine minutes into the frame, before Davies scored her second of the game off a feed from Frannie Hahn to make it 8-4 at the 5:18 point.
• Monaco connected on a score with 1:23 remaining, before Mercer scored with 22 seconds to play, giving Florida a 9-5 lead going into half.

Third Quarter

• Mercer scored first 75 seconds into the frame, getting the Gators lead down to 9-6 with 13:45 remaining.
• UF created breathing room, going on an 8-0 run to end the quarter. Six different Gators scored during the run, started by Hamilton (12:58), followed by Greene (10:46), Monaco (9:17), Frannie Hahn (8:36), Cate Isaacson (7:03), Ava Tighe (6:09) and concluded with back-to-back goals from Hamilton to give UF a 17-6 advantage heading into the fourth.

Fourth Quarter

• After a Mercer goal to stop the run, Markey found paydirt at the 12:26 mark to make it 18-7.
• The Bears connected on a goal, before Deacy and Luciano scored their first goals of the season, good for Luciano’s first of her career, to give UF a 20-8 advantage.
• Isaacson and Deacy each scored their second goal of the game, to give Florida their largest lead of the game at 22-8 with 1:36 remaining.
• Mercer connected on a late goal, giving the Gators a 22-9 victory.

Key Notes

• UF improves to 6-0 all-time against Mercer and 3-0 on the road
• Florida moves to 13-0 all-time against the Big South
• Hamilton’s fifth straight hat-trick is the longest hat-trick streak by any freshman in UF history
• It is the third game this season the Gators have had five or more multi-goal scorers
• Monaco earned her eighth career hat-trick and fifth of the season, tying a career high five goals
• Davies recorded her fourth hat-trick of her career, third of the season and her fourth straight multi-goal game
• Deacy tallied her first career multi-goal game and first career draw control
• Luciano nodded her first career goal
• Macy Zaban tallied her first career assist
• Monaco and Hamilton are the first duo to score five goals in the same game since Emily Heller and Emma LoPinto on April 8, 2023 against Temple
• Markey has recorded nine draw controls over her last two games
• Jordan Basso totaled her 100th career ground ball
• Elyse Finnelle, Georgia Hoey and Susan Radebaugh all recorded a save, as Finnelle improved to 3-0
• It is the second time this season UF has had 10 or more goal scorers

Career Highs
Clark Hamilton: points (7)
Chiara Scichilone: draw controls (4)
Alyssa Deacy: goals (2)
Sydney Wilson: draw controls (2)

Active Streaks (five or more)

 Next Up
 The No. 6 Gators will be in action on Thursday, as they travel to take on No. 9 Clemson at 12 p.m.
 
Follow the Gators:
#FLax
Twitter
Instagram