The teams remained the same, but this time around, Florida turned the story around on Northwestern. After playing for the ALC Tournament championship a year ago and falling short against the Wildcats, the Gators used a home-field advantage and a solid 60-minute effort to knock Northwestern off its pedestal as reigning five-time tournament champions. Third-ranked Florida used an 18-5 draw control edge and a phenomenal performance from freshman midfielder Shannon Gilroy to pounce on the No. 1 Wildcats 14-7, claiming the Gators first ALC Tournament crown. Florida knew it would face a revenge-minded Northwestern team after beating them on their home turf two weeks ago. But the Gators looked like the more poised, veteran team in Dizney stadium Saturday afternoon with suffocating defense and a hot stick from Gilroy. The freshman scored seven goals on nine shot attempts, matching the entire Northwestern team output, and defensively shut down Wildcats leading goal-scorer Shannon Smith with zero goals on three attempts. Florida earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Women's Lacrosse tournament with the win and has a good shot at earning the top seed in the tournament after No. 2 Syracuse fell 13-7 in their conference championship, respectively.