WILLIAMSBURG, Ky.- The Ave Maria University lacrosse team concluded the regular season on Sunday afternoon with a 19-12 loss to the University of the Cumberlands. With the win, the No. 7 Patriots earned a share of the Mid-South Conference regular season championship, a crown they share with Keiser and Marian.

Cumberlands led by as many as eight goals in the first half, taking leads of 11-3 and 12-4. The Patriots logged three stretches of at least three consecutive goals, including scoring four goals in a row to increase their lead from 7-3 to 11-3. Jaclyn Berry led the Patriots' attack in the opening 30 minutes, scoring all four of her goals, while Emily Heim and Bella Ricchiazzi both scored thee goals.

Four Gyrenes scored the team's five goals in the first half, led by a pair of tallies from Alexis Smich. Stephanie Hilker, Katelyn Sherman, and Calena Carabelli added the other goals for AMU, who scored two of the final three goals in the opening 30 minutes to cut the Patriot lead down to 12-5.

Ave Maria started the second half on a 7-3 run, cutting Cumberlands' lead down to three goals, 15-12, with 9:08 to play. The Gyrene stretch was keyed by Sherman, who scored three times in the first 21 minutes of the half. Smich, Carabelli, Georgia Miller, and Simms all scored goals in this stretch, while Cumberlands' goals were scored by Stephanie Meyer, Katie Brewer, and Amanda Phillips.

The Patriots pulled away from the Gyrenes in the final eight minutes, scoring the last four goals of the game. Phillips and Brewer both scored, and Ricchiazzi added her fourth and fifth goals of the contest to supply the final margin of victory.

In her final regular season game, Sherman scored four goals for the Gyrenes, and assisted on another. Smich added three goals, and Carabelli scored twice. Smich also added team-best totals with four ground balls, three caused turnovers, and seven draw controls. 

The Gyrenes will begin play in the Mid-South Conference Tournament on April 25, as the fifth-seeded Gyrenes will face off with fourth-seeded Georgetown College. The winner of the Mid-South Tournament will earn an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament, which will be held in Grand Rapids, Michigan.