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BOX SCORE

Women’s Lacrosse Holds off Gyrenes in Regular-Season Finale

AVE MARIA, Fla. (April 14, 2023) – In what was the regular-season finale, the Webber International University women’s lacrosse team battled Ave Maria University on the road on Thursday afternoon. It was a tight game but the Warriors held the lead for the majority of the game in a 13-10 victory over the Gyrenes.
 
Webber (8-5 overall, 3-3 SUN) was outnumbered by Ave Maria (6-7, 2-3) in total shots for the match, 31-20. However, the Warriors were more clinical with their shots as a higher percentage found the back of the cage.
 
The Gyrenes drew first blood less than a minute into the game. Roughly 30 seconds later, a solo-goal by Bryce Gerber quickly leveled the score. Another goal by Ave Maria a minute later regained it the lead, but only for a short time. Kaitlyn Patterson delivered a goal which tied things up yet again and the Gyrenes never regained the lead for the remainder of the game. Makayla Senter and Madison Hamilton netted back-to-back goals to hand the Warriors a 4-2 lead before Ave Maria pulled one back just before the end of the quarter.
 
Patterson and Gerber tallied early goals in the second quarter to extend Webber’s lead to 6-3. The two teams traded goals the rest of the quarter with Ave Maria scoring at the buzzer to make it 8-6 at the halftime break.
 
The Gyrenes scored first in the second half to pull within one but once again, goals by Gerber and Patterson restored Webber’s three-goal lead. Ave Maria would not give in as it scored two goals, cutting the deficit back to one. The Warriors scored the final goal of the quarter through Senter with just over 30 seconds left.
 
Patterson netted twice in the fourth quarter to gift Webber a four-goal advantage before the Gyrenes scored one final goal with under a minute to go.
 
Leading the way offensively was Gerber with four goals and a team-high six assists. Patterson was deadly in attack, as all six of her shots found the back of the net. She added a team-high five ground balls, three draw controls and two caused turnovers as well. Hamilton led the Warriors with six draw controls and contributed two ground balls and a caused turnover.
 
Reyanna Troupe fueled Webber on the defensive end, recording a season-high six caused turnovers followed by Alia Loydd with three. Jordyn Davidson was solid in the cage as she totaled five ground balls and 15 saves.
 
The Warriors now look to The Sun Conference tournament which will begin on Friday, April 21st, hosted by SCAD-Savannah in Savannah, Georgia.

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Lacrosse Falls in Home Finale

AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University lacrosse team hung around, but could not complete a comeback in their final home game of the season, falling 13-10 to the Warriors of Webber International University. The Gyrenes held an early 2-1 lead, but Webber kept AMU at bay for the remainder of the match to clinch the final spot in next week’s Sun Conference Tournament. Before the contest, AMU lacrosse honored the two members of the class of 2023.

Thursday’s game had a frenetic pace early on, with four goals scored – two from each team – in the first three minutes and eight seconds. After taking an early 2-1 lead, the Gyrenes were kept off the board for more than eleven minutes, while the Warriors scored three goals in that stretch to go ahead, 4-2. Monrae Prentice pulled AMU within one before the end of the frame, cutting the Webber lead to 4-3 with a free position shot with just over a minute to play in the first.

Webber kept up the offensive pressure in the second quarter, scoring twice in the first four minutes of the quarter to widen their lead to three, 6-3. AMU finally got back on the board with 6:37 to play, as the Gyrenes took advantage of playing 12-on-10, leading to a goal from Abigail Seiler. The teams traded goals for the remainder of the half, with Webber taking an 8-6 lead into the halftime break after a buzzer-beating goal from Seiler cut the Warriors lead to two.

Ave Maria kept the momentum from the buzzer beater going into the third quarter, as a Hannah Shaffrey goal cut the Webber lead to one less than two minutes into the third. The remainder of the third quarter was played in runs, as two straight Webber goals were answered by two straight goals from the Gyrenes. The quarter ended where it started, with Webber up two, when Makayla Senter scored with 38 seconds left to give the Warriors an 11-9 lead heading to the fourth.

Both defenses tightened up in the fourth quarter, with only one goal scored in the first ten minutes of the quarter. Webber scored that lone goal, then added another with just over four minutes to play to all but seal the conference victory. Claire Ichniowski scored the final goal of the evening, tallying AMU’s tenth goal of the contest with under a minute to play.

Seiler was Ave Maria’s leading scorer in the losing effort, scoring four goals. Orianna Eldridge and Kylie Tittinger combined for nine ground balls on defense. All three mentioned players – Seiler, Eldridge, and Tittinger – also added four caused turnovers against the visiting Warriors.

The loss eliminates the Gyrenes from postseason contention, regardless of the outcome of Saturday’s regular season finale. Ave Maria will close the season with a chance for one of the biggest upsets in program history, when the Gyrenes take on No. 1 Keiser University in West Palm Beach. Opening draw is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.