Florida Gators defeat Arizona State to become the first Big 12 Lacrosse Champions

(Photo: Ashling Filippi/WCSN)

In the tough loss to the Gators, Arizona State put up a fight. While the maroon and gold started off strong, they weren’t able to fight the whole way through. Falling short in the 60 minutes.

In the first half alone, ASU scored more goals than they had in the entire game the last time they saw Florida. Scoring seven goals to the five they scored just a week ago. In the first half, the trio of senior attacker Anna Thornton, junior attackers Lydia Oldknow, and Jordyn Behar had all scored twice. This should have given the team some offensive motivation to pull out ahead.

By the end of the first quarter, the Gators had already swapped out their goalkeepers. Having two keepers in the first half. This was the first time a Big 12 opponent had gotten five goals in the first quarter. The Gators had to be feeling the pressure. Arizona State Head Coach Taryn VanThof Puls knew that her team wasn’t pleased with their matchup against Florida a week prior, and wanted to perform better.

“We all agreed that it just wasn’t our best performance.” VanThof Puls said. “There was a lot to clean up in terms of what we could do moving forward.”

Despite being tied at five all at the end of the first quarter, by the half, the teams were now separated by five goals. Florida had come back and scored seven more goals, bringing the score up in favor of the Gators to 12-7 at halftime.

ASU was struggling with its free-position shot attempts, only scoring in two out of the eight opportunities they were given in the first half. The offense was facing more challenges in getting their shots off, especially compared to Florida, since they were able to get a total of 36 shots off against the Sun Devils, who only got 25 off.

Once Florida had scored 15 goals, and ASU was still at seven, The Sun Devils decided to swap goalkeepers. Giving freshman goalkeeper Regan Spichiger some conference tournament play experience. Vahle was substituted back in during the fourth quarter, she ended the game with eight saves. Bringing her up to 669 career saves. This season, she saved 192 shots, which is a new career-high for Vahle after her old high was 183 shots. She is also finishing her collegiate career, having started in every single game she played.

The Sun Devils just couldn’t appear to compete evenly with Florida’s intensity. In terms of both teams’ offense and defense. Everyone knew playing a nationally ranked team was going to be challenging, but ASU still showed up and put out an effort better than most.

In the fourth quarter, Oldknow was able to score and end the game with a hat trick, as well as senior Sun Devil attacker Bella Ingrao and Teagan Ng were able to get a goal each before time ran out. Ng only got one goal in this game, she usually averages more than three goals per game. That was a testament as to how the Gators’ defense was able to block out one of ASU’s star offensive players. Tensions were high among the Sun Devils. They were over-fouling, and in their attempt to match the Gators’ intensity, they were compromising their gameplay.

It’s not all bad news, multiple Sun Devils were named to the all-tournament team. Including attackers Jordyn Behar and Lydia Oldknow, goalkeeper Katie Vahle, and midfielder Anna Viglione.

Despite the loss in the championships, this was still a great season for the Sun Devils. The team had come back from being down at halftime multiple times to pull out wins. The team also showed their commitment to the game, since they were able to pull out a win and fight back multiple times. Those comebacks all contributed to the team making it as far as they did. They also made it to a championship match, which was a big deal already for the program.

“Those small victories throughout the season led us to being in a Big 12 Championship.” VanThof Puls said. “That’s the heart and hustle, and commitment to some levels across [the team]. That we’ve got to stand true and stand proud.”

2026 holds the next season for this program, full of surprises. Between losing and gaining multiple players in major positions, and the disappointment of how the 2025 season ended, the team should come out hot. Looking for redemption and to further prove the program’s ability to be successful, all while continuing to be led by VonThof Puls.