STUEBENVILLE, OH- The Ave Maria University Ultimate Frisbee team earned a hard-fought victory against Franciscan University of Steubenville, battling for a 10-9 win over their opponents.  Franciscan is currently ranked 22nd in the nation for Division III schools. 

Late Friday night, Ave Maria entered a high energy, home-team favored atmosphere, ready to play Franciscan on a rainy and windblown field. Right out of the gate, the Gyrenes scored first, however, Franciscan answered right back and quickly gained a 3-1 lead. Franciscan's zone defense stalled the Gyrenes' disc movement and created turnovers. Going into halftime, the Gyrenes were down 5-3. 

Franciscan received the disc to start the second half and immediately scored, making it 6-3, the largest lead of the night. Despite the stiff opposition, the Gyrenes continued to fight, and as time expired, tied the game at 9-9. 

The game now went to overtime, known as "Universe Point" in frisbee, meaning whichever team scored the next point would win the game. After forcing a Franciscan turnover, the Gyrenes marched down field, and were set in position just outside their opponents end zone with the disc in the hands of Captain Junior Liam O'Rourke. O'Rourke made a perfect throw to Sophomore Matthew Lesniewski who caught it on the opposite side of the end zone for the winning score! 

Upon earning the 10-9 victory, Coach Michael Middendorf praised the team's ability to push through adversity and always offer everything for God's glory. 

"Our team entered Friday night as serious underdogs," said Middendorf, "Franciscan has been a national qualifier almost every year for the past eight years. Despite unfavorable conditions, the team demonstrated that they could meet any challenge head on and can overcome incredible odds. This win shows that the team can compete with the best teams in the country. We gave everything in that game to God, to Him be the glory."