Florida Gators

NEW YORK -- Freshman Sydney Pirreca is the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week, Inside Lacrosse National Rookie of the Week and Lacrosse Magazine's Player of the Week after a five-goal stand-out performance in No. 3 Florida's 16-15 win at then-No. 2 North Carolina last weekend. Joining Pirreca with weekly accolades for the Gators is junior Mollie Stevens with back-to-back BIG EAST Midfielder of the Week honors.
 
Pirreca and Stevens combined for eight of Florida's 16 goals against the Tar Heels as the Orange and Blue moved to 3-0 on the young season with their second top-15 victory of the campaign so far.
 
Pirreca's five goals tied for the most by a Gator in a game this season, matching Stevens' season-opening tally against Loyola Feb. 6. Stevens found the back of the cage three times against North Carolina, making it three straight games with three or more goals to extend her school-record streak to 28 games with a goal scored. Stevens additionally clashed for a career-tying four draw controls. She leads the BIG EAST in overall goals in 2016 and ranks second with 11 draw controls this season.
 
BIG EAST Freshman Of The Week | Sydney Pirreca, Florida, Fr., M/D
5-2 | M/D | Mount Sinai, N.Y.
At No. 2 North Carolina on Saturday, Pirreca totaled a career-high five goals, including a hat trick in the first half alone, to push Florida to the upset victory in Chapel Hill. The five scores match the single-game high for the Gators this season, with her five scores coming off six shots.  Pirreca added a pair of ground balls. She was tabbed the National Rookie of the Week by Inside Lacrosse and named Lacrosse Magazine's Player of the Week.
 
BIG EAST Midfielder Of The Week | Mollie Stevens, Florida, Jr., M
5-7 |JR | Centreville, Md.
Stevens repeats as the top midfielder of the week following a hat trick at No. 2 North Carolina on Saturday, with each of her goals coming at crucial points. Trailing by three midway through the first half, Stevens made the deficit 6-4 at the 12:03 mark and then 8-6 four minutes later. She gave the Gators their second lead of the game, 10-9, with 25:14 remaining in regulation. Stevens added four draw controls and a ground ball as Florida upset the 2015 national runner-up Tar Heels.
 
2016 PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS

UP NEXT
Next up, Florida returns home to the friendly confines of Donald R. Dizney Stadium for a match-up with Dartmouth Feb. 27 at noon before heading to No. Syracuse -- assistant coach Becca Block's alma mater -- for a Tuesday mid-week road game March 1. Of note, Florida head coach Amanda O'Leary needs just one more win to notch her 100th win as the Gators' head coach.
 
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