Florida Using Final Four Run as Fuel for the Future

If Florida lacrosse had an FAQ section before the 2024 season, it would’ve included two questions.

What will you do without star attacker Emma LoPinto?

How do you replace All-American goalie Sara Reznick?”

After a 0-2 start with losses to Loyola and North Carolina, the answers appeared to be “not much” and “you don’t.”

But Florida’s season lasted 23 games, and the Gators didn’t lose again until they fell to Northwestern by four goals in the NCAA semifinals.

“Everybody kind of wrote us off last year after the first two losses of the season,” Florida coach Mandy O’Leary said. “I think everyone was like, ‘Oh, well, there's Florida — whatever.’ And I think [the team] took that to heart.”

As the page turns, some of the words remain the same. Florida bid farewell to four leading scorers from last year’s final four team in Maggi Hall (65G, 52A), Danielle Pavinelli (57G, 41A), Ashley Gonzalez (35G, 34A) and Emily Heller (46G, 7A, 45DC). Liz Harrison corralled 230 of Florida’s 283 draws (81.2%) and also turned her tassel.

What will Florida do without them?

Perhaps the better question is this. When will those of us — this writer included — outside the program learn?

Florida learned a thing or two about graduations last year, and the veterans returned to Gainesville this fall ready to prove history could repeat itself — even if some of us are plugging new names into the same questions.

“Graduations happen, not only at Florida,” O’Leary said. “We have confidence that we weren't the only ones to graduate some key players. There are other programs out there that have graduated key players.”

Confidence doesn’t mean rose-tinted glasses, however.

“Yes, we graduated a lot of key players — no doubt,” O’Leary said. “But we have a hungry group. Some were a part of that team. Some weren’t, but they want to get back there. They’re hungry to put the work in.”

O'Leary said Gianna Monaco doesn’t need much extra motivation. The junior has a competitive edge and a “win-at-all-costs” mentality. She’s also Florida’s leading returning starter.

Monaco rose the depth chart last season after seeing action in 13 games as a rookie in 2023, making seven starts on a veteran-heavy attack and posting 30 goals and 10 assists.

“She’s willing to do whatever it takes to put the ball in the back of the neck,” O’Leary said. “She's a pure goal scorer. This fall, we’ve seen she’s willing to put the time in to work with the newer players that we need to fill those spots left behind.”

It’s also open season in net. Georgia Hoey made 10 starts before getting injured against Vanderbilt, returning for a few minutes in the Gators’ national semifinal game against Northwestern. Elyse Finnelle stepped in and up, producing a 9.07 GAA and 52.9-percent save percentage, good for fourth nationally. Susan Radebaugh, straight out of high school power St. Paul’s (Md.), also enters the fold.

“It’s anybody’s ballgame at this point,” O’Leary said. “Georgia had some great minutes at the beginning of the season. Elise finished out the season strong. It’s a healthy competition.”

Whoever gets the nod will play behind Theresa Bragg and Ashley Dyer, who started every game for a Florida defense that finished seventh nationally in goals allowed per game (8.52).

Kaitlyn Davies — fresh off winning a gold medal with the U.S. Women’s U20 National Team this summer — was also a key cog in last year’s defense. However, O’Leary said she’s returning to her more natural role as a two-way midfielder. Sophomore Gabbi Koury, who scored 11 goals as a rookie, is on her way up the depth chart and figures to factor in on both ends of the field.

The depth chart in the circle is a “work in progress,” where O’Leary said the Gators are “almost starting over” without Harrison — and Emily Heller (45DC), for that matter.

Cali Bishop, a junior transfer from Louisville, has been taking the majority of draws this fall. She tailed 19 draw controls last season at Louisville and previously broke the New Hampton School (Md.) single-season draw record with 112 during her freshman season. Other draw-takers and spots along the circle are all up for grabs.

Bishop isn’t the only transfer. Florida saw success with portal adds last year in Hannah Heller (23DC, 15GB, 12CT) and Sarah Falk (30G, 5A, 28DC). This year, the Gators add Jenny Markey, a midfielder from Syracuse who is coming off an injury that sidelined her for much of 2023 and all of the 2024 season.

“At this point, she’s getting herself back together and her feet under her,” O’Leary said. “She has a high lacrosse IQ coming from Syracuse and can play both ends of the field equally well. There is so much upside to Jenny.”

Speaking of upside, O’Leary sees it in a pair of rookies that came in ready to roll. Like Markey, Gabby Greene (Archbishop Spalding, Md.) has the chops to contribute quickly in the midfield.

“She’s strong and dominant,” O’Leary said. “She’s a player who can get downhill well and fire the ball. She's got great strength.”

On the attack, O’Leary expects freshman Hamilton to play significant minutes, too.

“She's so skilled, and not just with her stick,” O’Leary said. “She’s crafty with her body. Her shot is a rocket. She’s a kid who you just let go. You say, ‘Go ahead, Clark. Do your thing.’”

Fans and journalists may be playing a game of rinse, wash and repeat with the same old questions from 2024. But O’Leary may do the same come this time two years from now when talking about freshmen.

It may not even be 2025, but the Gators’ incoming 2026 class is already making headlines. In September, Florida snagged four five-star recruits in three days in midfielders Maria Bragg (Severna Park, Md.), Ava Oblog (West Islip, N.Y.) and Anna Von Kennel (Darien, Conn.) Lefty attacker Katie DeWald rounded out the massive five-star haul (Rush Henrietta, N.Y.).

Not for nothing, but four-star recruits in attacker Emma Speed (St. Anthony’s, N.Y.) and defender Gabi Johnson (Cambridge, Ga.) are also Gainesville-bound in 2026.

While many of last year’s stars have graduated, part of their legacy includes players they won’t take the field with until alumnae games in the 2030s.

“To get to final four weekend and be on the big stage again with all eyes on you certainly helps in recruiting,” O’Leary said.

Two of those eyes were Von Kennel’s. Lisa Lindley, the legendary coach at Darien, encouraged her to look at Florida in February — you know, that month when some of us had counted the Gators out. Von Kennel counted herself in — at least for considering the Gators. The championship weekend appearance only drove interest for a player used to competing for titles annually.

Of course, Florida’s narrative in 2024 was a bit different, but that wasn’t bad. “Who doesn’t love an underdog?” Von Kennel said.

The success on the field helped, but O’Leary’s personal touches sealed the deal. O’Leary even texted Von Kennel’s mother on her birthday. Von Kennel called O’Leary in September, letting her know she was choosing the Gators over Maryland and UNC, where her former high school teammate Chloe Humphrey is slated to make her long-awaited collegiate debut in 2025.

“It was a gut feeling,” Von Kennel said. “In my heart, I knew it was a place I should be. They said a lot about how I’d be able to play lacrosse and go to school, and they take care of everything else. I love lacrosse. I want to play lacrosse, and to be able to do that at a school that takes that seriously — like my high school that’s really competitive — was important.”

Von Kennel plans to bring that championship focus to Florida, where she has her sights set on experiencing the final four — and hopefully winning an NCAA title — in a Gators uniform. Perhaps she’ll lift Florida to its first. Or maybe a trophy or two will already be on display in the athletic complex.

O’Leary isn’t ruling anything out this season, but she’s not getting complacent. It’s a new day, and she’s asking her team different questions than we are.

“Last year, we made it, and that was an incredible run,” O’Leary said.  “This year, it’s a new group, and you can’t rest on last year’s laurels, given that we lost a ton to graduation. This team has to forge their own path. That’s the challenge. Our culture is tremendous. It’s just a matter of getting out there and figuring out: How do we do all the things we need to do to compete during final four weekend?”

Perhaps this year, we’ll wait until May to expect an answer.