Score: No. 5 Keiser Seahawks 20, No. 3 SCAD Savannah Bees 10
Records: No. 5 Keiser (15-3), No. 3 SCAD Savannah (12-3)
Location: Multi-Purpose Field, West Palm Beach, Fla.
No. 5 Keiser women's lacrosse exacted revenge on the No. 3 SCAD Savannah Bees in the most emphatic way possible, dismantling the tournament's top seed 20-10 to claim the Sun Conference Tournament Championship. In a rematch of the game that handed Keiser their only conference loss of the regular season, the Seahawks made sure there would be no doubt this time, erupting for nine goals in the second quarter to turn a tied game into a statement victory. After the game,
Isabelle Vrensen was named the tournament's most valuable player, totaling five goals and five assists across the two games.
Ellen Benintendi won the first draw control and the Bees converted quickly, with Annise Berkeley putting one away at 13:40 to open the scoring. Keiser responded with some urgency, and after working through a series of turnovers and a couple of blocked free position attempts,
Milena Isturiz tied the game at 1-1 with a shot over the left shoulder of the keeper with 6:40 remaining in the period.
Tess Geiger then gave the Seahawks their first lead moments later, finishing a free position chance at 3:57 to make it 2-1. SCAD had an answer as Benintendi won yet another draw control, and the Bees worked the ball downfield to tie it again at 2-2, this time through Lilah Herold at 2:07.
Raelyn Boutwell would make a key stop on Benintendi in the closing seconds to keep it level heading to the second.
The second quarter was where Keiser took command of the championship match and never looked back. A foul by SCAD led to a free position opportunity, and
Reese Lynch converted at 14:08 to put Keiser ahead. Before the Bees could breathe,
MacKenzie Gibaud put it through the goalies' legs to make it 4-2 just seconds later at 13:22. SCAD answered when Annise Berkeley won a draw and Maddie Krohn buried a free position chance at 12:24 to trim it to 4-3, but Griffin won the very next draw and Keiser went on a tear. Vrensen scored a bouncing shot at 11:11, and
Jia Schweigert cashed in an assist from
Baylee Walker off the draw at 10:54. Vrensen then found Geiger wide open at the top of the 8-meter line and Geiger did the rest, ripping in a goal to the top left corner at 8:20 to push the lead to 7-3. The run continued when Schweigert found Isturiz in front of net on a two-woman up advantage to make it 8-3 and force a SCAD timeout with 5:49 to play in the half. With 4:27 showing, Vrensen would pass up her free position attempt, finding Schweigert cutting from behind the net who buried the shot. SCAD carved into the lead briefly, with Karley Holland converting a free position goal at 3:07 and Riley O'Keefe finishing a man-up opportunity at 2:47 to trim it to 9-5. Keiser responded immediately as Gibaud bounced in a goal with 2:05 left before Schweigert rolled one in herself with 52 seconds left in the half. The Seahawks outscored the Bees 9-3 in the quarter and went into the break with an 11-5 advantage.
Vrensen wasted no time in the second half, ripping a shot low by the keeper to bring the lead up to 12-5 at the 14:10 mark. SCAD would get one back as they worked the ball up the field and Karley Holland converted a man-up free position goal at 12:28 to make it 12-6. McKinsey Brown scored at 6:23, and then Maddy Hahn rattled off two goals in rapid succession to make it a 13-9 game with 4:40 showing. Following a timeout by the Seahawks, Vrensen would find Geiger in front of net who fired a shot into the top corner once again to make it 14-9 with just 46 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Isturiz opened the fourth with a near-side shot at the 11:11 mark and the Seahawks were getting their wish. Walker won the ensuing draw and Keiser went back to work with
Emily Ferris finding Schweigert open in front of the net on a break to make it 16-9. Geiger would win the next draw and find Ferris who once again fed Schweigert for the goal and Keiser was quickly up by eight, 17-9, forcing a timeout by SCAD. The Bees would not go quietly as Benintendi fired in her only goal of the game with 10:09 remaining. However, Griffin won another draw and Isturiz got the ball behind the net before spinning off her defender and scoring to make it 18-9. Vrensen scored again with 7:15 remaining before Schweigert found Gibaud cutting who made it a 10-goal game. Boutwell turned away every threat the rest of the way, and when the final horn sounded, Keiser had its championship.
Keiser earned an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship in Decatur, Alabama on May 11-15. The Seahawks will await their opponent which will be revealed with the NAIA Selection Show on Monday, May 4 at 5:00 p.m. on the NAIA YouTube channel.
- Keiser claims the Sun Conference Tournament Championship, improving to 15-3 on the season with the victory
- Keiser avenged their only conference loss of the regular season by defeating the top-seeded Bees in the championship game as the two-seed
- Nine of Keiser's 20 goals came in the second quarter alone
- Schweigert led all scorers with five goals and two assists for seven points
- Isturiz finished with four goals on four shots on goal, converting every attempt on the day
- The tournament MVP, Vrensen, posted three goals and three assists for six points
- Gibaud and Geiger each finished with three goals
- Keiser won the draw circle 19-14, with Griffin leading all players with eight draw controls
- Keiser outshot SCAD 31-28, with a shot-on-goal advantage of 27-20
- Defensively, Maya Francisco and Geiger both tallied three caused turnovers
- Francisco also led the way with three groundballs in the game
- Boutwell played all 60 minutes, recording 10 saves on 28 shots faced and improving her record to 12-3
- The 10 saves equal her career high that she set earlier this season against the Bees
- The win marks the first time Keiser has ever defeated SCAD Savannah at home
- The 10-goal margin is the largest margin of victory for the Seahawks against a top-3 opponent
- Keiser scored 12 unassisted goals which marked a new season high
- The Seahawks have now scored at least 20 goals in six games this season
No. 5 Keiser
Points: Schweigert (7)
Goals: Schweigert (5)
Assists: Vrensen (3)
Draw Controls: Griffin (8)
Ground Balls: Francisco (3)
Caused Turnovers: Francisco/Geiger (3)
Saves: Boutwell (10)
No. 3 SCAD
Points: Brown/Hahn/Holland (2)
Goals: Hahn/Holland (2)
Assists: Brown (1)
Draw Controls: Benintendi (1)
Ground Balls: O'Keefe (4)
Caused Turnovers: O'Keefe (4)
Saves: Zundel (5)
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