GAINESVILLE, Fla. — When it was over, her hair was wet, she had on a T-shirt that was rain-soaked, and her shoes were muddy.
University of Florida women’s lacrosse coach Amanda O’Leary could not have cared less Sunday. In O’Leary’s world, she had a perfect Mother’s Day.
“What a game,’’ she said. “This was a spectator’s dream.”
In a back-and-forth battle against Stanford in the second round of the NCAA tournament, the No. 4-seeded Gators (19-2) advanced in dramatic fashion on junior midfielder Kaitlyn Davies’ goal in double overtime, lifting Florida to a 13-12 victory and 16th consecutive win. The game-winning score came with 1:35 left in the second overtime.
The Gators gained possession when Josie Hahn won the draw control to start the second overtime. Florida milked the clock before a foul call on Stanford’s Allison Baldwin gave Gianna Monaco a free-position shot to win it. Monaco’s shot missed wide, but the Gators kept possession when Frannie Hahn scooped up a ground ball. Davies eventually took possession in heavy traffic in front of the goal.
Then a dose of late-game, postseason drama engulfed Dizney Stadium.
Davies fired a shot that bounced off the right thigh of Stanford goalkeeper Lucy Pearson, who had made a critical save in the first overtime to keep the Cardinal alive. However, the ball ricocheted off Pearson’s leg, and as she attempted to grab the rebound, she deflected the ball with her stick back across the goal line. Following an official review: game over.
Davies said she was seeing stars after fighting through heavy traffic and muscling a shot off as the shot clock ate precious seconds.
“You’ve just got to give it your all,’’ she said. “It was all or nothing. We put everything into this game. The last play was just a broken play.”
The Gators advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals for the second consecutive season. Florida went all the way to the Final Four in 2024 for the first time in 12 seasons and second time in program history.
While a wild celebration on Florida’s side of the field erupted, Stanford (15-6) huddled nearby wrapped in dejection as its season ended. The Cardinal defeated Denver in Friday’s first round for their first NCAA tournament win in nine years.
Former Northwestern standout Danielle Spencer, in her sixth season as Stanford’s coach, credited the way her team refused to wilt on a muggy and drizzly Florida afternoon.
“It stinks,’’ she said of the final play. “They had to make a determination of the ball going over the line in the air, as opposed to on the ground, which is really tough. It’s a tough way to end, but we had our chances. I probably would do some things differently, myself, but the players can’t have any regrets. They put it all on the line. They emptied the tank.”
Before Davies ultimately finished off Stanford, she helped the Gators open a 12-9 lead early in the fourth quarter by scoring three goals during a 4-0 Florida run that turned a 9-8 deficit into a three-goal lead.
However, Stanford’s defense tightened up and goals from Aliya Polisky, Martha Oakey and Ava Arceri forced overtime. Polisky finished with three goals to give her 65 on the season, establishing a Stanford single-season record.
After neither team could convert in the final four minutes of regulation or the first overtime, Davies delivered in the clutch with her fifth goal of the game and 50th of the season. Much like the Cardinal did to get back into the game and force overtime, the Gators dug deep when it mattered most.
“We all were going with the mindset that we weren’t going to let them beat us,’’ said defender Celeste Forte, who forced a game-high four turnovers to help disrupt Stanford’s attack. “We knew that they were going to be gritty. We knew they were workhorses, too. We just came out and we were like, ‘We’re not going to let them dictate how we play this game.’ We came in composed and we didn’t let them go on runs.”
Florida led 6-4 at halftime despite Stanford owning a 9-3 advantage on draw controls. The Gators dominated on the draw (13-5) in the second half, but with each team bending but never breaking at different stretches, it came down to a battle of wills.
O’Leary was still smiling as she departed the postgame press conference to enjoy the rest of her Mother’s Day, saying she wished she could coach this year’s team forever.
She gladly settled for at least one more game Sunday.
“We competed from start to finish,’’ O’Leary said. “We just have so much confidence in our attackers, it doesn’t matter who has the ball, That’s what it came down to on the last play. It was all about trusting each other.”
