Score: No. 5 Keiser Seahawks 9, No. 1 Benedictine Ravens 16
Records: No. 5 Keiser (16-4), No. 1 Benedictine (18-0)
Location: Jack Allen Sports Complex, Decatur, Ala.
No. 5 Keiser women's lacrosse pushed the undefeated, defending national champion No. 1 Benedictine Ravens to their limit in the NAIA National Tournament Semifinal, trading goals deep into the second quarter before the Ravens pulled away with a dominant second half. The Seahawks finish the year 16-4.
After a pair of saves by
Raelyn Boutwell in the opening minutes,
Emily McCall found
Milena Isturiz for the first goal of the game at 11:59. Benedictine answered off the following draw when Lorelei Siegel found the back of the cage at 11:10 to tie it at one. Boutwell came up big again in the first before
Tess Geiger buried a chance to make it 2-1. The Ravens responded almost immediately, with Kiera Russell finishing off an Alexa Hildenbrand assist at 4:37 to tie the game again. In the final minute, Kaylen Moore deposited the go-ahead goal at 0:11 to send the quarter to a close with Benedictine ahead 3-2.
After the Ravens started with possession,
Kate Griffin intercepted a pass and went coast-to-coast to tie the game at three 34 seconds into the quarter. The Ravens retook the lead at 11:56 when Moore picked up a free position goal. Keiser responded with a free position goal of their own to knot things up again at four apiece. With 5:46 remaining,
Mikayla Madden put Keiser in front 5-4. Then, the Seahawks took advantage of a woman-up scenario as Geiger rocketed a shot in to make it 6-4. A pair of cards against KU left the Ravens with the advantage and Benedictine's Hildenbrand capitalized on the woman-up opportunity at 2:49 to cut it to 6-5. Then in the final 40 seconds, the Ravens struck twice in quick succession to turn a 6-4 deficit into a 7-6 halftime lead.
Benedictine took control of the draw circle from the opening tip, winning it to start the period through Mackenna Hill, and Siegel put one in immediately at 14:28 to push the lead to two. Hildenbrand scored again at 12:39 for 9-6, and then Siegel, off a rebound following a Lile Chekas shot that Boutwell stopped, making it 10-6 at 11:18. Boutwell kept the Seahawks in striking distance with multiple saves in the quarter before Keiser got on the board courtesy of a nice feed from
Isabelle Vrensen to McCall who sent the keeper the wrong way before making it 10-7. Benedictine answered 43 seconds later, Lile Chekas converting off a Hildenbrand assist to restore the four-goal lead.
MacKenzie Gibaud hit the post in the closing seconds as Keiser tried to generate one more before the break.
Benedictine's Moore scored just 30 seconds into the period to make it 12-7, and despite a
Kate Griffin goal at 13:14 off a relentless Keiser possession that saw Gibaud go wide and Vrensen get turned away before Griffin punched it home, the Ravens answered within a minute. Moore scored again at 12:30 off a Hildenbrand assist for 13-8. Hildenbrand converted a woman-up chance at 9:26 to push it to six before Venarsky added another at 7:21. Moore capped a five-goal fourth with her fifth of the game at 4:32 for 16-8. In the final seconds, Gibaud picked up a free position goal as the Seahawks were the last to score with the final result at 16-19.
- Keiser finishes the season 16-4 after falling in the NAIA National Tournament Semifinal
- Geiger, Gibaud, and Griffin all finished with a pair of goals in the game
- McCall tallied a goal and an assist while Isturiz finished with one goal
- Ferris and Vrensen each had one assist in the match
- As a team, the Seahawks broke the program record for assists in a season, finishing the year with 196 assists
- Keiser finished with nine draw controls as a team
- Griffin led the Seahawks with four draw controls
- Boutwell made a career-high 15 saves in her final game
- Gibaud closes out her Keiser career tied for second all-time in program history in goals (130), assists (82), and points (212)
- Isturiz ends her career as the all-time program leader in both groundballs (175) and caused turnovers (141)
No. 5 Keiser
Points: Four Tied (2)
Goals: Geiger/Gibaud/Griffin (2)
Assists: Ferris/McCall/Vrensen (1)
Draw Controls: Griffin (4)
Ground Balls: Belton/Isturiz/Vrensen (2)
Caused Turnovers: Belton/Gibaud/Griffin (1)
Saves: Boutwell (15)
No. 1 Benedictine
Points: Siegel (7)
Goals: Moore (5)
Assists: Sigel/Hildenbrand (3)
Draw Controls: Moore (7)
Ground Balls: Moore (3)
Caused Turnovers: Moore (5)
Saves: Owen (9)
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