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BOX SCORE

No. 1 Women’s Lacrosse Caps Regular Season with a Win over No. 10 Ave Maria

Score: No. 1 Keiser 14, No. 10 Ave Maria 3
Records: No. 1 Keiser (14-0, 6-0 SUN), No. 10 Ave Maria (6-8, 2-4 SUN)
Location: Multi-Purpose Field, West Palm Beach, Fla.

No. 1 Keiser women’s lacrosse closed out their regular with a strong performance against another top team on Saturday, defeating No. 10 Ave Maria on the home field, 14-3. The win clinched a perfect regular season for just the second time in program history and the third undefeated conference season for the Seahawks.

Keiser 3, Ave Maria 1

• Keiser took advantage at the 8:22 mark with Chloe Foley finding Abbey Cannon for the goal to put the Seahawks ahead.
• Two minutes later, Foley took it herself, shooting low on the goalie to give KU a 2-0 lead.
• A mishap on the clear for the Seahawks gave Hannah Shaffrey a golden opportunity that she converted to put the Gyrenes on the board.
• With just over a minute to play in the first MacKenzie Gibaud drove from the outside before firing a shot into the net to give Keiser a 3-1 lead going into the second.

Keiser 7, Ave Maria 2

• One minute into the second quarter, Leanza Gibaud found Talia Myers who beat the keeper for her first goal of the game.
• The Gyrenes would get a goal back with Abigail Seiler finding the back of the net to cut the score down to 4-2.
• With 9:46 on the clock, Foley found Cannon again who tallied her second of the game to put KU ahead 5-2.
• M. Gibaud found a wide-open Foley in front of the net with 4:32 on the clock who beat the keeper to make it 6-2.
• Myers finished the quarter off with a free position goal as the Seahawks went to the break with a 7-2 advantage.

Keiser 11, Ave Maria 3

• With just under 12 minutes to play, Milena Isturiz forced a turnover, scooped up the groundball, and ran the length of the field before beating the keeper for her first goal of the afternoon.
• Samantha Esher got on the board after plowing through hits from defenders to give Keiser a 9-2 lead.
• Esher would double up her goals a minute later, converting the free position attempt with four minutes showing.
• Ave Maria grabbed the ensuing draw control and went straight down the field to make it 10-3.
• Emily McCall picked up the final goal of the quarter with 36 seconds left on a free position attempt to make it 11-3 going into the final 15 minutes of play.

Keiser 14, Ave Maria 3

• Myers would score the initial goal for the Seahawks but it would be called off in favor of the foul before Esher completed her hat trick on the same possession to start the fourth quarter scoring.
• Rebecca Gibson would create a turnover with just over seven minutes left in the game and following a save from the AMU keeper, the ball would find its way back to Gibson who fired in her third goal of the season.
• With under a minute left to play, Mayrin Rushford scored as the clock ticked down to zero, giving the Seahawks a 14-3 win to end the year.

• 40: The Seahawks outshot the Gyrenes 40-8 over the course of the game.
• 26: Keiser recorded 26 caused turnovers on the afternoon which is the third most in program history trailing two other performances against Ave Maria.
• 4: Gibson led the effort with a team-high four caused turnovers.
• 4: Four Players collected four groundballs in the game with Makena Myers, McCall, Passaro, and T. Myers all hitting the mark.
• 4: Isturiz and Hayley Frew each recorded four draw controls in the contest to lead the team.
• 3: Esher led all scorers with three goals in the game.
• 3: Cannon and Foley would join her with three points in the game.
• 1: Five different players would tally an assist for Seahawks on the afternoon.
• 1: All three goalies that entered the game for KU recorded a save with Cassidy Green getting the start and the win.

No. 1 Keiser
Points: Cannon/Foley/Esher (3)
Goals: Esher (3)
Assists: Five Tied (1)
Draw Controls: Isturiz/Frew (4)
Ground Balls: M.Myers/McCall/Passaro/T.Myers (4)
Caused Turnovers: Gibson (4)
Saves: Green/Boutwell/Wroe (1)

No. 10 Ave Maria
Points: Seiler (2)
Goals: Seiler/Ichniowski/Shaffrey (1)
Assists: Seiler/Fifield (1)
Draw Controls: Seiler (5)
Ground Balls: Tittinger (4)
Caused Turnovers: Tittinger (5)
Saves: Dawson (11)

Keiser will face Webber International on April 21 in Hardeeville, S.C. in the Sun Conference Semifinal.

Get the latest information on the team by following Keiser_wlax on Instagram, and Keiser wlax on Twitter.
 
General athletic news can be found at KUSeahawks on Facebook, kuseahawks on Instagram, and kuseahawks on Twitter. 

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2023 Lacrosse Season Comes to an End

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.- The Ave Maria University lacrosse team concluded the 2023 season on Saturday, falling 14-3 to the nation’s No. 1 team, the Keiser University Seahawks, in West Palm Beach. The Gyrenes hung around with the top-ranked Seahawks for around 25 minutes, trailing just 5-2 with five minutes remaining in the first half before KU finished the game with nine of the final ten goals to put AMU away.

Ave Maria’s defense held up well in the first 15 minutes of action, holding Keiser to just three goals in the opening frame. AMU got on the board themselves after the first two Keiser goals, cutting the Seahawk lead in half with a Hannah Shaffrey goal with just over two and half minutes remaining in the quarter. Emily Durr was brilliant in goal for the Gyrenes in the first quarter, saving seven of the ten shots fired upon her.  

The second quarter saw the game grind to a halt, as only three goals were scored in the first ten minutes of play. Keiser scored on their first opportunity of the quarter to make it 4-1, but Abigail Seiler answered with a goal of her own, cutting the KU lead to 4-2 on an assist from Allison Fifield. Keiser would score their fifth goal at the 9:46 mark of the second, then added two goals in a span of 34 seconds to widen the lead to 7-2 at halftime.

Keiser took further control of the match in the second half, outscoring the Gyrenes by a 7-1 margin. Keiser scored four goals in the third quarter to widen their lead to 11-3, then scored three more in the final quarter to hit the final margin of eleven. The lone goal of the second half for the Gyrenes, which would prove to be AMU’s final goal of the season, was scored by sophomore Claire Ichniowski. 

Seiler was the lone Gyrene in the match with multiple points, as AMU’s leading scorer finished her sophomore season with one goal and one assist. Kylie Tittinger led the defensive effort with five caused turnovers and four ground balls, both of which were team highs. Both AMU goalkeepers played well in the losing effort, as Durr and Hannah McConologue combined to make 15 saves, recording an overall save percentage of better than 50 percent.

The Gyrenes also hit two milestones in the final week of the season. Sophomore Hannah Shaffrey became just the fourth player in AMU history with 100 points in a career, hitting the mark in just two seasons of play. Additionally, freshman Kylie Tittinger set a new school record with 32 caused turnovers, breaking the existing record with five on the final day of the season. Three other Gyrenes – Orianna Eldridge, Francesca Paige, and Monrae Prentice – logged more than 20 caused turnovers to finish in the top ten all-time in the category.

2023 proved to be a successful season for the Gyrenes, as AMU earned multiple signature wins under first-year head coach Katelyn Sherman. Ave Maria defeated two ranked teams during the season, beating Siena Heights playing a man down and knocking off then-No. 1 Benedictine at Gyrene Field. The 2024 season is expected to be a promising one for AMU, with every goal scored during the 2023 season scored by freshmen, sophomores, and juniors.