2024 NCAA Lacrosse Preview: No. 12 Florida (Women)

The 2024 Division I women's college lacrosse season kicks off February 9. As is our annual tradition, we’re featuring every team ranked in the USA Lacrosse Preseason Top 20 in the lead up to opening day. Check back to USALaxMagazine.com each weekday this month for new previews, scouting reports and rival analysis.

NO. 12 FLORIDA

2023 Record: 17-4 (5-1, AAC)
Final Ranking (2023): No. 9
Head Coach: Amanda O’Leary
Assistants: Regy Thorpe, Nicole Levy, Christina Esposito

The transfer portal giveth, and the transfer portal taketh away.

Florida head coach Amanda O’Leary experienced both extremes during the summer. Emma LoPinto, a 187-point producer in her first two seasons in the Swamp, entered the portal and made her way to Boston College. As did teammate Becky Browndorf.

Florida, though, augmented its roster by bringing in defender Maria Pansini from Princeton, defender/midfielder Hannah Heller from UMass and midfielder Sarah Falk from Albany.

“You’re seeing kids transfer everywhere,” O’Leary said. “I think the transfer portal is a wonderful thing for kids to find different opportunities that better suit them. That’s where we all benefit.”

O’Leary said LoPinto let her know of her decision to enter the portal in the offseason, but that decision didn’t impact her approach to fine-tuning the roster.

LoPinto isn’t the only major loss, as longtime goalie Sarah Reznick chose to forego her remaining eligibility to pursue her passion in nursing.

It’s the dawn of a new era in Gainesville, even as some holdovers remain to bridge the gap between old and new.

TOP RETURNERS

Danielle Pavinelli, A, Sr. (47G, 21A in 2023)
Emily Heller, M, Gr. (39G, 40GB in 2023)
Maggi Hall, A, Sr. (47G, 36A in 2023)

For as many new faces that needed to be introduced, there’s plenty of talented holdover. Pavinelli and Hall of paced the attack since 2021, and Emily Heller is perhaps one of the top unsung do-it-all middies in the country.

KEY ADDITIONS

Maria Pansini, D, Gr. (25GB, 20CT in Princeton career)
Hannah Heller, D/M, Gr. (38GB, 25 CT, 9G, 5A at UMass in 2023)
Sarah Falk, M, Gr. (72G, 6A at Albany in 2023)

Bolstering the defense with Pansini and Heller — the twin sister of Emily Heller — were no-brainers. As was the addition of Falk, especially after her out-of-this-world NCAA tournament showing.

“You always look at what they did for their program,” O’Leary said. “But then watching her literally take her team on her back and beat Virginia [in the first round], it was an incredible accomplishment. She’s everything that we’d hoped she would be and more.”

Falk’s 72 goals last year were a single-season program record for the Great Danes.

NOTABLE DEPARTURES

Graduations: Sarah Reznick, G; Tayler Warehime, A; Emerson Cabrera, M; Emily Diaz, M; Shelton Sawers, D
Transfers: Emma LoPinto, A (Boston College); Becky Browndorf, D (Boston College)

X-FACTOR

Georgia Hoey, G and/or Elyse Finnelle, G

There’s a goalie battle brewing, with O’Leary’s three options combining for just over 240 minutes in 2023. O’Leary said it’ll come down to Elyse Finnelle, a redshirt-sophomore who saw 154:26 in cage for the Gators last spring, or Georgia Hoey, a UConn transfer who didn’t see much time behind All-American Landyn White.

“They’re both working very, very hard,” O’Leary said. “It’s going to be a gameday thing. They both bring something very different to the table. They’re embracing the challenge.”

THE NARRATIVE

Florida’s head coach frankly “doesn’t care too much” about the perception that the Gators can’t win the big game. And, honestly, that perception might not be entirely true in the first place.

Florida captured the AAC title by beating James Madison in the conference championship game, a feat in its own right considering the season the Dukes had and the 14-9 loss Florida suffered to them on March 18. That win helped the Gators earn the sixth seed and hosting rights in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.

“I don’t really care too much,” O’Leary said. “When you start worrying about the outside noise, that starts to become an issue. We’re not really too concerned with what people say about us.”

And people who point to 2024 as a possible transition year, another spring of an early exit, aren’t considering the experience Florida added via the transfer portal, O’Leary said.

“I personally think it’ll be a different kinda year because I think we’re going to see a lot of success,” she said. “I think that we have the talent. We return our entire midfield, and we add Hannah Heller and Sarah Falk.”

ENEMY LINES
WHAT RIVALS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE GATORS

“Florida seems like a revolving door of talent. It makes it hard to decipher who they will be in 2024.”

BEYOND THE BASICS
POWERED BY LACROSSE REFERENCE

The big storyline for Florida is how well they can replace Emma LoPinto’s productivity and efficiency. With an assist rate in the 83rd percentile and shooting efficiency in the 94th, she was a major dual threat in this offense last season. Unfortunately for the Gators, she’s at Boston College now. Among the potential replacements, only Maggi Hall had a comparable efficiency rating last year. If Danielle Pavinelli and Emily Heller can rise to the occasion, it is possible that the Gators’ 13th-ranked offense could enter the post-LoPinto era without missing a beat.

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