WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. - It's been six long years of waiting for the Ave Maria University lacrosse team. In the program's first six years, the Gyrenes could never find that golden goal against the Tigers of Georgetown College.
A one-goal loss in 2017. An overtime loss in 2018. An overtime loss in the conference tournament in 2019. A one-goal loss earlier this season.
Finally, Thursday night was the Gyrenes' night.
The Gyrenes ended an eight game losing streak to the Tigers, dating back to the start of the program, and advanced in the Mid-South Conference Tournament with a 14-13 victory on the campus of the University of the Cumberlands. AMU rallied from a 12-7 deficit after three quarters to pull off the shocker, the team's first-ever postseason win.
Ave Maria came out looking like a team determined to change their fates. In the game's first 21 minutes, the Gyrenes roared out to a 6-2 lead. AMU got goals from Abigail Seiler, Orianna Eldridge, and Emma Davis in the first quarter to take a 3-1, then scored three of the first four goals in the second quarter, thanks to tallies from Davis, Claire Ichniowski, and Emma Baughman.
From that point until the end of the third quarter, Georgetown seemed to take control of the game. The Tigers scored three of the final four goals of the second, cutting the AMU lead to 7-5. The lone Gyrene goal in this stretch came from Davis. The third quarter belonged fully to the second seeded team from the north division, as Georgetown outscored the Gyrenes 7-0 to open up the game's biggest lead for either team, 12-7, ending a 10-1 run.
But on this night, Ave Maria would not be denied. The Gyrenes scored three times in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, as goals from Davis, Shaffrey, and Seiler cut the Georgetown lead to 12-10. After what would prove to be GC's final goal made it 13-10, the Gyrenes answered with the final four goals of the night. Three of those four goals would be scored by Davis, including the game-winner with 5:52 to go. The other was scored by Eldridge, which evened the score at 13 with 6:38 remaining.
Emma Davis seemingly made it her mission to extend her AMU career at least one more day, logging just the sixth seven-goal game in AMU lacrosse history. Davis was dialed in, as seven of her eight shots on goal found the back of the net. More history was made by freshman Hannah Shaffrey, who became the first player in school history to record five assists in a single match, while scoring one of AMU's critical fourth quarter goals.
Defensively, Orianna Eldridge helped lead the way for the Gyrenes, scooping up six draw controls and causing three turnovers. Shaffrey and Monrae Prentice led AMU with three ground balls each. Between the pipes, Kaylee Wesolowski outplayed her Georgetown counterpart, keeping 50 percent of the Tigers' shots out of the net with 13 saves.
To advance again, the Gyrenes will have to climb another mountain: that of the defending national champion Keiser University Seahawks. Ave Maria will battle Keiser Friday afternoon at 4:00 p.m., with the winner facing either Cumberlands or Life in the Mid-South Conference championship game on Saturday.
