Kitty Cullen (Rockville, Md.) scored a season-high five goals and the Florida lacrosse team beat Oregon 16-6 on Tuesday night at Donald R. Dizney Stadium in Gainesville.

The Gators (7-4, 0-2 ALC) held a 10-4 halftime lead and shut down the Ducks (4-7, 0-0 MPSF) in the second half, limiting them to just three shots on goal and two scores after the break. Florida used a 6-0 run in the second half to pull away for good.

Oregon’s Jana Drummond, who entered the game with 30 goals on the season, was held in check by freshmen Sam Farrell (Millersville, Md.) and Jamie Reeg (Atlantis, Fla.), who limited Drummond to just one goal on two shots.

“Our defense played very, very well,” said Florida head coach Amanda O’Leary. “We actually had Sam matched up on No. 2 [Jana Drummond], and between her and Jamie Reeg sliding and doubling I thought it was a great effort, by that entire defensive unit. Katie Ciaci, Emily Dohony and Kayla Stolins back there, the whole group just played so well.”

Sophomore Caroline Cochran (Annapolis, Md.) opened the scoring in the first half after beating her defender and finishing a shot inside the 8-meter arc for a 1-0 Florida lead. Cullen notched her first goal of the night and Colby Rhea (Abingdon, Md.) picked up a blocked shot and scored to give Florida a 3-0 advantage just over 10 minutes into the game.

Kaitlyn Pasko got the Ducks on the board, but Cullen scored her second goal of the night to start another run for the Gators. Midfielder Brittany Dashiell (Bel Air, Md.) forced Oregon to call a timeout after recording her 18^th goal of the season, and just 24 seconds after the timeout, Ashley Bruns (Ellicott City, Md.) passed to Rhea who scored to give UF a five-goal lead. Caroline Chesterman (South Nyack, N.Y.) set a screen at the top of the crease, and then redirected a pass from Bruns to push the lead to 7-1 for Florida.

Oregon scored their second goal of the night at the 9:25 mark of the first half, but Cochran answered with a bouncing shot past the goalie for an 8-2 lead. The teams traded two goals apiece and went into the locker room with Florida leading 10-4.

Alex Breiner gave the Ducks some life by scoring a goal less than a minute into the second half, but the Gator defense turned it up a notch and Janine Hillier (Farmingdale, N.Y.) scored her seventh goal of the season to spark another scoring run.

Cullen and Bruns each scored twice and Dashiell added another goal and Florida led 16-5 with 14:52 left in the game. Breiner scored her second goal of the game and capped the scoring with just over 12 minutes to play.

Bruns finished with three goals and three assists on the night to lead the team with six points. Cochran, Dashiell and Rhea each added two goals. Cullen scored 11 goals entering tonight’s contest, and matched her previous season-high with three goals in the first half. She finished with five goals on eight shots.

Goalie Cara Canington (Bel Air, Md.) continued to play well in the net, notching seven saves, two ground balls and a caused turnover. Reeg had a season-high five ground balls, three draw controls and two caused turnovers.

“I thought Jamie had a fantastic game,” said Coach O’Leary. “We were worried about No. 2 and she just came out and played so, so well.”

The Gators continue their homestand on Saturday, when they host their first American Lacrosse Conference game against No. 14 Penn State at noon. Fans can follow the action live on AM850, GameTracker or Twitter.com/GatorZoneLax.

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