Score: No. 5 Keiser Seahawks 15, No. 8 Ave Maria Gyrenes 11
Records: No. 5 Keiser (10-2, 2-0 SUN), No. 8 Ave Maria (4-6, 1-1 SUN)
Location: Multi-Purpose Field - West Palm Beach, Fla.
No. 5 Keiser women's lacrosse turned a chaotic first quarter into a statement win, rallying from a 4-1 deficit to pull away for a 15-11 victory over No. 8 Ave Maria on Senior Day at the Multi-Purpose Field. Before the opening draw, Keiser recognized seniors
Baylee Walker,
Baylee Jennings,
Emily McCall,
Erin Martin,
MacKenzie Gibaud, and
Raelyn Boutwell for all their contributions to the program.
The game opened in a flurry of back-and-forth possession, with neither team able to sustain consistent pressure early. Lily Hynds got the Gyrenes on the board at 9:46 to open the scoring.
Emily McCall won the ensuing draw and
Milena Isturiz answered for Keiser just twelve seconds later to level it at one apiece. Alexandra Mazurczak made it 2-1 for Ave Maria at 8:17 off a pass from Anna Bocchino. Bocchino then converted a free position goal at 6:27 and Mazurczak added her second of the quarter at 5:31 to push the lead to 4-1.
Jia Schweigert then found
Baylee Walker who found the net at 3:31. Less than a minute later
Isabelle Vrensen worked around her defender to score and cut the deficit to one. With just over a minute left,
Emily Ferris hit
MacKenzie Gibaud with a pass who rocketed a shot in to tie the game at 4-4 heading into the second.
After a sloppy start to the second, a pair of saves from
Raelyn Boutwell kept the game knotted at 4-4. With 6:36 remaining, Bocchino took advantage of the woman-up opportunity and gave Ave Maria a 5-4 lead. Keiser would get their own woman-up chances and Gibaud forced a shooting-space foul with just under 5:30 to play. She would convert to tie the game at 5-5. Just 20 seconds later, Gibaud would get the ball behind the net and find Isturiz cutting who buried the chance to give Keiser their first lead of the game. The Gyrenes would have the final say as Mazurczak scored a woman-up goal with nine seconds left to send the teams into the locker room tied at six.
Vrensen put Keiser ahead just 49 seconds into the third, beating her defender and tucking it in to the far side netting. Gibaud registered another assist with 12:51 remaining in the quarter, finding
Emily Ferris who was able to break free and put Keiser up 8-6. A timeout by the Gyrenes did not slow down the Seahawks as Walker cut through the defense and got hit as she scored her second of the day.
Tess Geiger then won the draw and later finished it herself at 8:48 to make it 10-6. Keiser kept pouring it on. After
Isabelle Vrensen converted a free position goal at 5:49, it was 11-6 and play got more physical. A pair of cards against Keiser gave Ave Maria a man-up opportunity, but a forced turnover by Isturiz would turn into another goal on the other side, this time Schweigert finding Beth Leeder. After a goal by the Gyrenes, a solid set of passing ended with Schweigert finding Gibaud in front of the net, who finished the chance to make it 13-7. Ave Maria would score the final goal of the quarter to make it 13-8 Keiser heading into the fourth.
Ave Maria opened the fourth by taking advantage of multiple cards called against the Seahawks. Annie Dhabliwala scored the first of the quarter before assisting the second within the first two minutes and Keiser's lead was cut to three. Another woman-up goal by the Gyrenes made it 13-11 and a timeout on the field at 11:30 settled the scene. With just under seven minutes to play,
Reese Lynch delivered the dagger on a man-up goal at 6:52 after
Lucy Single made a great pass in front of the net to push the lead back to three at 14-11. Boutwell made a key save on a Dhabliwala attempt at the six-minute mark to preserve the margin. Keiser's defense would hold firm for the remainder and Schweigert added a late insurance goal at 0:54 to seal the 15-11 final.
The Seahawks will hit the road on Thursday, April 16 to play (rv) Warner in Lake Wales. The opening draw control from the Athletic Turf Field is set for 6:30 p.m.
- Keiser improves to 10-2 overall and 2-0 in Sun Conference play with the win
- The Seahawks improve to 4-1 at home this season
- Keiser moves to 5-2 against ranked opponents this season
- The Seahawks have now scored at least 15 goals in five consecutive games
- Gibaud led all scorers with three goals and two assists for five points
- She has now scored in 30 consecutive games
- Vrensen was just behind her with three goals and an assist
- Schweigert also had four points on the day with a goal and three assists
- The Seahawks put up 29 shots compared to 21 for Ave Maria
- Walker and Isturiz rounded out the players with multiple goals as both had two
- Keiser won the draw circle 15-12 overall
- Griffin led the Seahawks with four draw controls followed by Geiger who had three
- Isturiz recorded a season-high and game-high five groundballs
- Boutwell earned the win in goal with eight saves on the day
No. 5 Keiser
Points: Gibaud (5)
Goals: Gibaud/Vrensen (4)
Assists: Schweigert (3)
Draw Controls: Griffin (4)
Ground Balls: Isturiz (5)
Caused Turnovers: Belton/Isturiz (3)
Saves: Boutwell (8)
No. 8 Ave Maria
Points: Dhabliwala/Mazurczak (4)
Goals: Mazurczak (4)
Assists: Paige (2)
Draw Controls: Dhabliwala (8)
Ground Balls: Hynds/Fifield/Paige (2)
Caused Turnovers: Hynds (2)
Saves: Pieniadz (8)
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