AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University lacrosse team concluded their regular season against the defending national champions on Tuesday, playing the Keiser University Seahawks for the second time this season. The Gyrenes surged in the second quarter to cut a 7-0 Keiser lead down to three, but Keiser controlled the rest of the contest to emerge with a 20-7 win, clinching the Mid-South Conference's South Division for the Seahawks.

The first quarter was all Keiser, as the No. 5 team in the nation scored seven straight goals to start the game. Six Seahawks scored in the first frame, with Madison Andrews the lone player with two goals. The teams split the eight draw controls, 4-4, but Keiser forced nine turnovers in the opening 15 minutes, and held the Gyrenes to just three shots when they had the ball. 

Ave Maria weathered the early storm, and proceeded to score five of the next six goals in a ten-minute span, cutting the Keiser lead down to 8-5. Emma Baughman was the only Gyrene with two points in this stretch, scoring once and assisting on a goal from Emma Davis, which allowed Davis to tie the school record for goals in a season at 45. Keiser responded with the final two goals of the half, giving the visitors at 10-5 lead at halftime. 

Keiser took the Gyrenes' best shot in the second quarter, and regained full control in the second half. The Seahawks shut out Ave Maria in the third quarter, and outscored AMU 10-2 in the final 30 minutes to pull away at Gyrene Field. AMU broke their 20-plus minute scoring drought in the first moments of the fourth quarter on a goal from Hannah Shaffrey, while Orianna Eldridge added her second goal of the game at the 11:00 mark to close out AMU's half of the scoring.

Facing an unrelenting barrage of shots from the Seahawks, Ave Maria goalkeeper Kaylee Wesolowski set a new single-game school record with 21 saves. The senior also scooped up four ground balls to lead the Gyrenes defensively. 

Five Gyrenes had two caused turnovers, led by Francesca Paige, who had three ground balls, and Eldridge, who led the team with five draw controls.Shaffrey and Eldridge were the lone Gyrenes with two goals against the national champions, and Eldridge added an assist to lead AMU with three points on the evening.

The Gyrenes will play next in the Mid-South Conference Tournament, scheduled for April 21-23 in Williamsburg, Ky. on the campus of the University of the Cumberlands. Ave Maria's opponent for their first round game will come from the North Division, and will be finalized in the leadup to the tournament.