AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University lacrosse team won their third consecutive game on Saturday afternoon, defeating Life University 19-11 at Gyrene Field. The win moved Ave Maria to 5-4 on the season, bringing AMU above .500 for the first time since the end of the 2017 season. Before the contest, the Gyrenes honored their members of their senior class.
Ave Maria raced out to a 4-0 lead over the Running Eagles, scoring four times in the first seven minutes of the contest. On her Senior Day, Katelyn Sherman marked the occasion with a bang, assisting on goals from Emma Davis and Stephanie Hilker and then scoring two goals of her own. Sherman also scored her third goal of the game in the middle of a 3-1 run from Life that cut the AMU lead to 5-3.
The teams then traded three goal runs, with two goals from Aiyanah Simms and one from Amanda Spurlin counted by Life goals from Bridgett Simmer, Darion Eagen and Jewelya Nelson. The first half closed with a flurry of action, with three goals scored in the final 138 seconds. Sherman and Hilker scored for AMU and Nelson scored for Life, giving the Gyrenes a 10-7 at the break.
After a goal from Eagen pulled Life within two goals at 10-8 less than a minute into the second half, the Gyrenes proceeded to score five unanswered goals in six and a half minutes to put the game out of reach. In the stretch, Simms scored three Gyrene goals, while Jessica Denara added one and Sherman scored her fifth goal of the day on an assist from Alexis Smich.
In the final 21 minutes, the Gyrenes outscored the Running Eagles 4-3 to get the final margin to eight goals. The AMU goals in the final stretch of the game were provided by Calena Carabelli, Smich, and two more from Sherman.
Sherman scored seven goals in the victory, the third time in her career where she has found the back of the net seven times. The senior is the only player in AMU history to score seven goals in a game. Simms added five goals, a season high, and six other Gyrenes scored a goal. Simms also led the team with five ground balls. Alexandra Chunchukov caused four turnovers in the win, and Emma Davis recorded four draw controls.
With the win, the Gyrenes move to 1-1 in Mid-South Conference action, good for fourth place, with three games to play. Ave Maria's next match-up will be their final home game of the season, next Saturday against SCAD-Savannah. The Bees have won back-to-back national championships, and are currently ranked No. 1 in the nation. The opening draw between the Gyrenes and the Bees is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Gyrene Field.
