FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The No. 4 Florida lacrosse team (20-2, 5-0 Big 12) will compete in its second straight NCAA Semifinal, as the Gators will take on the top-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels (20-0, 9-0 ACC) on Friday at 3 p.m. from Gillette Stadium.

The Gators are riding a 17-game winning streak, coming off a victory over Duke last Thursday by a score of 11-9. Florida moved to 19-13 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with the win, advancing to its third Final Four in program history.

This is the 19th meeting all-time between the Gators and the Tar Heels, with North Carolina leading the series 14-4. It is the eighth top-five matchup between the two squads.

The two teams met earlier this season on Feb. 15 in Gainesville, where the Tar Heels were victorious by a 14-9 margin.

The Gators own a 1-2 record all-time against North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament, defeating the Tar Heels in the 2024 First Round by a score of 17-8. Captain Josie Hahn recorded a hat-trick in that win, while Elyse Finnelle totaled a career high 14 saves.

Balanced Scoring

The Gators are coming off a game where they had five different players record two goals apiece, in Gianna Monaco, Frannie Hahn, Josie Hahn, Clark Hamilton and Gabbi Koury. Florida has eight goal scorers this season with 20 or more goals, tying the Tar Heels for the most among teams left in the tournament. Florida has been led in scoring by 10 different players this season.

Gators Defense Showing Up Come Tourney Time

The Gators have allowed 27 goals through three games of this NCAA Tournament, holding the opponents to .338 percent shooting (27-for-80). Florida has held teams under 10 goals 11 times this season.

Win Streak Against the ACC in May

The Gators enter this Semifinal matchup with a four-game winning streak against the ACC. Florida began the winning streak against the Tar Heels last season in the first round, before defeating Virginia in the second round. They have knocked off Stanford and Duke this season as the Gators own a 4-7 record all-time against the ACC in NCAA Tournament play.

Gators 2025 Stat Leaders

Points: Gianna Monaco (93)

Goals: Gianna Monaco (73)

Assists: Franie Hahn (59)

Shots: Gianna Monaco (149)

GBs: Ashley Dyer (39)

CTs: Theresa Bragg (29)

DCs: Cali Bishop (52)

Saves: Elyse Finnelle (104)

Save Percentage: Georgia Hoey (.481)

 

Key Notes

• Florida owns an 0-2 record all-time in the Semifinals
• The Gators are 3-8 all-time against the No. 1 team (regular season and postseason), lastly knocking off No. 1 Maryland on Feb. 15, 2020
• UF is one of six teams to make back-to-back Final Fours and get to three Final Fours since 2012
• The Gators (250 wins) and Tar Heels (247 wins) rank second and third for most wins since 2012, behind Maryland
• Tar Heels Head Coach Jenny Levy (441 wins) and Amanda O’Leary (422 wins) rank second and third for most wins among active Division l coaches
• Florida has nine come-from-behind victories and four one-goal wins this season, good for the most among teams remaining
• The Gators tallied 15 points in last year’s Final Four and return only one point of production from that game (Gianna Monaco – one goal)
• Theresa Bragg set a career high four caused turnovers in the 2024 Semifinal, as she is one caused turnover away from becoming the fifth Gator in program history to tally 30 caused turnovers in a season
• Both UF and North Carolina rank top-eight nationally in scoring offense, scoring defense, assists per game, points per game and shooting percentage

Active Streaks

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