(Photo: Zina Garcia/WCSN)
Arizona State Lacrosse (10-7, 3-2 Big 12) fell on the road against the No. 4 Florida Gators (15-2, 5-0 Big 12) on senior day in Gainesville. The highly ranked Gators jumped on the Sun Devils early and never looked back en route to a commanding 17-5 win.
UF stormed out to an early lead and ended the second quarter up 5-1. They continued to dominate defensively, only allowing ASU to grab a pair of goals in the first half, and entered the half up 11-2. From there on, the Gators cruised to victory whilst in turn continuing to suffocate the ASU offense, holding one of the elite units in the Big 12 to just five goals all game. UF looked all the part of its top ranking and will be the heavy favorites to win the Big 12 tournament in Boulder, Colorado, next weekend.
Junior attacker Teagan Ng started on offense for the Sun Devils in a game in which their attacking game was stifled. Ng had a pair of goals, the most on the team, and shot at 50% on the day. A host of Sun Devils also added single points, but it was a far cry from the 20-point performance last week against San Diego State.
ASU head coach Taryn VanThof, a former UF assistant coach with an emphasis on the offensive side of the ball, had a front row seat as a Gator masterclass in that department. The impressive 17 goals showed the many dimensions of the dynamic offense, one that places an emphasis on playing fast, something VanThof said she wanted to limit before the game.
For UF, freshman attacker Clark Hamilton added four goals and an assist, a very impressive showing from the younger player on senior day. Junior midfielder Kaitlyn Davies and fifth-year senior attacker Jordan Basso both added hat tricks with each also adding an assist. UF’s ability to get goals from a multitude of places was something that gave ASU problems all day and is an aspect that separates the good from the great.
Senior goalkeeper Katie Vahle did all she could for the Sun Devils. She had 11 saves and was facing constant pressure from the Florida attacker. Sophomore midfielder Anna Viglione was one of the rare brights sports for ASU controlling half of the draws in the game at a 50% clip giving her team tons of possessions.
Next up for ASU will be a trip to Boulder for the Big 12 tournament. ASU will begin with a matchup against the home team, the No. 2-seeded Colorado Buffaloes. The Buffs defeated the Sun Devils in Tempe 14-13 back in early April and will be favored to do so again with home-field advantage. However, the Sun Devils’ explosive offense means they are never to be ruled out of a conference, and coach VanThof’s team will fight to the end, no doubt.
