Ave Maria Gyrenes Battle #4 Life
MARIETTA, Ga.- The Ave Maria University lacrosse team, playing with the minimum 12 players available, could not keep up with one of the top teams in the nation on Saturday afternoon, dropping a 20-2 decision to the Running Eagles of Life University in the Peach State. Life scored the first 19 goals of the Mid-South Conference contest, and kept the Gyrenes off the board into the fourth quarter.
Life scored three goals in the first four minutes of the game, then were held off the scoreboard for more than eleven minutes before adding their fourth goal of the first quarter. The Running Eagles added a game-high eight goals in the second quarter to lead 12-0 at halftime, and scored six more in the third before finishing the contest with two goals in the fourth. 12 Eagles scored at least one goal in the win, led by seven from Angie Forbes.
Facing a potential shutout, the Gyrenes scored twice in the final eight minutes to ensure AMU would score at least one goal for the 91st consecutive game, dating back to the 2015 season. Abigail Seiler got Ave Maria in the scoring column with 7:16 to play in the game, accounting for her 18th goal of the season. The final goal was scored by Monrae Prentice, as the sophomore scored her first goal of the season with 27 seconds remaining in the contest.
Sophomore Orianna Eldridge tied a school record with eleven draw controls against Life, evening the mark set in the 2015 season by Lydia Buckley. Eldridge also led all Ave Maria field players with three ground balls. In addition to her goal, Prentice also added three caused turnovers to lead the Gyrenes defensively. In goal, freshman Hannah McConologue played all 60 minutes for the first time in her collegiate career, making eleven saves.
The Gyrenes remain in Georgia for the weekend, and will head to West Point on Monday for a meeting with the Skyhawks of Point University, where AMU head coach Shelby Sanderson coached for two seasons. Opening draw of Ave Maria’s final non-conference game of the season is scheduled for 2:00 pm.