Score: No. 1 Keiser Seahawks 14, (rv) Ave Maria Gyrenes 8
Records: No. 1 Keiser (14-0, 6-0 SUN), Ave Maria (6-8, 4-2 SUN)
Location: Multi-Purpose Field - West Palm Beach, Fla.
Nine goals in the second half propelled No. 1 Keiser women's lacrosse to a 14-8 win over (rv) Ave Maria at home on Thursday afternoon. With the win, the Seahawks claimed the Sun Conference Regular Season Title. Keiser found themselves trailing 6-5 at the break but scored the only five goals in the third quarter to take the momentum back.
Samantha Esher led the offensive attack for the Seahawks with five points on the three goals and a team-best two assists.
Hayley Frew tallied four goals in the game to lead Keiser including two quick goals to start the second half. In goal,
Cassidy Green and
Raelyn Boutwell combined for 10 saves and a 55.6 save percentage.
Keiser will travel to (rv) St. Thomas for the final game of the season on Saturday, April 12. The opening draw control from AutoNation Field in Miami Gardens, Fla. is set for 11:00 a.m.
Keiser 4, Ave Maria 2
- Isabelle Vrensen found Samantha Esher cutting next to her for the first girl with 13:27 on the clock
- Down a player with 9:17 showing, Lizzie Belton ran the entirety of the field before laying it off to Baylee Walker for an easy second goal
- Ave Maria was able to find the back of the net to make it 2-1 with 7:12 on the clock after initially hitting the crossbar on an attempt
- With under five minutes on the clock, Vrensen drove through multiple defender's before firing home her first of the day
- Anna Bocchino countered on the other end, converting the free position chance to make it 3-2 in favor of KU
- In the closing moments of the quarter, Hayley Frew broke her defenders ankles before driving and shooting to put Keiser up 4-2
Ave Maria 6, Keiser 5
- Ave Maria scored twice in the first six minutes of the second quarter to tie the contest
- With just over eight minutes on the clock, Walker sent a high pass into the middle where Jia Schweigert jumped, caught the ball, and shot it past the keeper in one motion to give the Seahawks a 5-4 lead
- The Gyrenes would take the momentum into the break with goals by Hannah Shaffrey and Abigail Seiler as Ave Maria now led 6-5
Keiser 10, Ave Maria 6
- Frew came out of the half on a mission with Esher finding her early to tie the game at 6-6
- A minute later, Milena Isturiz hit Frew from the same spot to put Keiser ahead 7-6 with 12:40 on the clock
- Esher continued the run after scooping the ball up in front of net and firing it past the goalie to make it 8-6
- With 6:26 on the clock, Peyton Tomlinson found Esher cutting who shot a ball to the far post while falling, putting Keiser ahead 9-6
- Isturiz then made the highlight of the day, grabbing a loose ball on the left side of the net and shoveling it to the far post and in as Keiser went up 10-6
Keiser 14, Ave Maria 8
- Seiler scored her third of the game to open the fourth quarter as the Gyrenes cut the lead to three
- With just over eight minutes to play, Frew was fouled near the 12-meter line. She took three steps forward before ripping a shot into the back of the net for her fourth goal of the game
- Following a goal by the Gyrenes, Schweigert ran fifty yards with the ball before shooting to the weak side of the keeper to put the Seahawks in front by four
- Keiser would not let Ave Maria breathe as Schweigert forced a turnover in the Gyrenes half before finding Vrensen who tacked on another goal for KU
- With 14 seconds left, Esher found Isturiz for the final goal of the game, sealing the 14-8 victory
- Keiser improves to 14-0 with the win
- The Seahawks claim the Sun Conference Regular Season Title with a game to spare at 6-0
- It is the second SUN Regular Season Title in program history (2023)
- For the sixth time in her career, Frew tallied four goals in a game
- Esher's five points tied her season-high mark with three goals and two assists on the day
- For the sixth time this season, Keiser scored two goals despite being down a player due to cards
- The Seahawks are now up to 13 goals this season in woman-down scenarios, the most by any Keiser team in program history
- In the midfield, Isturiz grabbed a staggering eight groundballs, tying the second most in program history
- The Seahawks forced 19 caused turnovers in the game with Belton leading the way with four
- Isturiz also grabbed a team-best four draw controls in the win
- Cassidy Green recorded six saves in the game with Raelyn Boutwell grabbing four
- The Seahawks cleared the ball effectively, converting 23 of their 24 chances, tying for the most clears this season
No. 1 Keiser
Points: Esher (5)
Goals: Frew (4)
Assists: Esher (2)
Draw Controls: Isturiz (4)
Ground Balls: Isturiz (8)
Caused Turnovers: Belton (4)
Saves: Green (6)
(rv) Ave Maria
Points: Shaffrey (4)
Goals: Seiler (3)
Assists: Shaffrey (3)
Draw Controls: Chapman (6)
Ground Balls: Ichniowski (4)
Caused Turnovers: Coyle (2)
Saves: Durr (12)
Keiser will travel to (rv) St. Thomas for the final game of the season on Saturday, April 12. The opening draw control from AutoNation Field in Miami Gardens, Fla. is set for 11:00 a.m.
Get the latest information on the team by following Keiser_wlax on Instagram, and Keiser wlax on Twitter.
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