2023 Women's Top 30: How Florida Fared vs. Projections

Before USA Lacrosse Magazine looks ahead to what’s to come in 2024, our team of staff and contributors decided it was worth taking one last look at 2023.

After all, you have to look at the most recent results before making projections for what’s to come. To do that, we’re taking a journey through the top 30 teams in men’s and women’s lacrosse — what went right, what went wrong and what we should all think of that team’s season.

Was it a success? A failure? A mixture of both? You’ll find out our thoughts over the next month or so.

FLORIDA WOMEN’S LACROSSE

Nike/USA Lacrosse Preseason/Final Top 20 Ranking: 8/9
2023 record: 17-4 (5-1 American Athletic Conference)

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Florida’s March 11 loss to James Madison — its first since joining the AAC in 2019 — proved insignificant in May when the Gators exacted revenge in a gusty 9-8 win. It was Florida’s ninth-straight conference tournament crown dating back to its time in the Big East, a legacy of dominance for a team that began its Division I run in 2010. The win scored Florida the seventh seed and a pair of NCAA tournament home games. Danielle Pavinelli dropped five goals in a 13-7 win over Jacksonville.

WHAT WENT WRONG

Besides the James Madison loss, Florida stumbled in February against North Carolina and Maryland teams experiencing “down years” (relatively speaking). But the biggest disappointments came in May (and beyond). Florida trailed unseeded Notre Dame 15-11 in the fourth quarter of the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Gators rallied, evening the score at 15 with 1:22 left on a goal by Pavinelli, but Kasey Choma’s goal with 10 seconds made Florida the only seeded team on the outside looking in of the quarterfinal round.

Perhaps the biggest blows came later when Sarah Reznick, who ranked third in Division I in save percentage (.539), opted not to take a fifth year. She instead joined Athletes Unlimited. And leading scorer Emma LoPinto (62 G, 28 A) entered the transfer portal and departed for Boston College. LoPinto had two years of eligibility remaining.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT

Beating James Madison 9-8 for the conference crown was a major victory for the Gators. Beating the new kids on the block, who had beaten Florida earlier in the spring, was a massive boost for a program that hadn’t really been challenged in the AAC.

VERDICT

Florida performed as expected based on preseason projections. And the Gators warded off their stiffest competition for a conference crown in three years in James Madison. The season wasn’t a failure by any measure, but it ended disappointingly. As a home team, Florida should’ve beaten Notre Dame. Now, there are questions on both ends of the field, with Reznick and LoPinto exiting. That said, having Reznick for 2024 would have been a COVID bonus. LoPinto is the bigger flag. Maggi Hall (47 G, 36 A) and Pavinelli (47 G, 21 A) will return in 2024, but LoPinto was a critical cog in the Gators’ offensive plans for two more seasons.