GAINESVILLE, FLA. – No. 2 University of Florida used a strong second half to pull away from the No. 17 Towson University women's lacrosse team and claim a 15-7 victory on Monday night. The Tigers (6-1) suffered their first loss off the season despite three goals from sophomore midfielder Kaitlyn Montalbano.

THE BASICS
No. 2 Florida 15, No. 17 Towson 7
Donald R. Dizney Lacrosse Stadium, Gainesville, Fla.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Tigers found themselves down early as Florida (9-0) scored the first four goals of the game. Shayna Pirreca's second goal of the game at 23:47 helped the home team open up the early advantage.
• Towson halted the Gators' run with a free position goal from redshirt junior midfielder Michelle Gildea at 22:53.
• Back-to-back goals pushed Florida's lead to 6-1 with 20:30 left in the half.
• The reigning Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Rookie of the Week, freshman attacker Carly Tellekamp fought through traffic and scored for the Tigers at 18:36.
• Tellekamp's goal started a 4-0 run for the Tigers which made it a 6-5 game with 16:02 left in the half. Tellekamp scored her second of the game during that run while freshman midfielder Katie Sciandra and Montalbano, who was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, also scored.
• Florida ended the Tigers' run with back-to-back goals which made it an 8-5 game with 8:40 to go in the half.
• The Tigers weren't done yet as Montalbano's free position goal made it an 8-6 game with 7:24 showing on the clock.
• Nicole Granziano's second goal of the game sent Florida into the half with a 9-6 advantage.
• The Gators and Tigers traded goals to start the second half.
• Montalbano's third goal of the game made it a 10-7 contest with 18:56 to play.
• However, that was as close as the Tigers would be able to get. Florida scored the final five goals of the game and secured the 15-7 victory. Graziano scored twice during that run for the Gators.

QUOTABLE

• "You can't make mistakes like we did against a team like Florida," said Towson head coach Sonia LaMonica. "We got rattled and made some uncharacteristic errors. We can take a lot of from this game, you can't make unforced errors and we've got to get on the same page. The girls battled hard and Florida's a good opponent, hopefully we can learn and grow from this."

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Montalbano had three goals, that gave the sophomore her second straight hat trick and third of the season.
• Both teams won eight draw controls in the first half but Florida won six of the eight draw controls in the second half and finished the game with a 14-10 advantage in draw controls.
• Sophomore midfielder Samantha Brookhart and senior midfielder Breanna Hamm each had three draw controls.
• It was the first time all season, the Tigers surrendered 10 or more goals this season.
• Freshman Angie Benson made six saves in the loss for the Tigers. Haley Hicklen made five saves in relief for the Gators.
• Graziano led Florida with four goals while Sammi Burgess had three goals and two assists.

The Tigers are back in action on Saturday, March 19 when they host No. 16 Penn at 3 p.m. in Unitas Stadium. That game will be the second game of a doubleheader with the men's team.