MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Ave Maria got one step closer to the Sun Conference Tournament Monday night by winning their penultimate game against the St. Thomas Bobcats 16-8. The Gyrenes led most of the first half before dominating in the second half to finish off the win.
St. Thomas scored the opening goal of the game in the first quarter, but that would be their only lead of the match. Just about seven minutes into the game, Abbey Seiler put the Gyrenes on the board and tied the game at one.
Ave Maria struck three more times in the opening frame, all within two and a half minutes of each other. Seiler got the run started with her second goal of the game, followed by Anna Bocchino and Orianna Eldridge getting their first goals.
The Bobcats snuck two goals in the final two minutes of the quarter but Ave Maria maintained the lead heading into the first break.
The second quarter started with another four-goal run from the Gyrenes. Eldrigde opened the frame with back-to-back unassisted goals. Bocchino then got her second goal of the game and Lily Hynds finished off the run, putting the Gyrenes up 8-3.
St. Thomas went on a three-goal run of their own to end the half, but never caught the Gyrenes who took an 8-6 lead into halftime.
The third quarter was when the Gyrenes really opened it up on the Bobcats. Ave Maria outscored St. Thomas 5-0 in the frame. Bocchino, Hynds and Eldridge all scored again while Alexandra Mazurczak scored her first two goals of the game.
Defensively, Emily Durr made two saves to blank out the Bobcats in the third.
With a seven-goal lead, the Gyrenes played loose in the fourth quarter and still outscored the Bobcats 3-2 to win the frame. It was the usual suspects for the day for the Gyrenes, with Bocchino, Mazurczak and Hynds all finding the back of the net. When the final horn sounded, the Gyrenes walked off the field having doubled up St. Thomas 16-8.
Eldridge and Bocchino tied for the most goals on the team, each with four. That is a season high for Bocchino while tying the season high for Eldridge.
Between the pipes, Durr played the first three quarters and got her sixth win of the season, stopping six of the 12 shots she faced. Hannah McConologue tended the goal in the fourth and made one save.
As a team, the Gyrenes outplayed the Bobcats by causing more turnovers, scooping up more ground balls and winning more draws.
With the win, Ave Maria improves to 6-5 overall and 3-2 in conference play. The win also puts the Gyrenes one step closer to clinching their first ever spot in the SUN Conference tournament. The Gyrenes can clinch Thursday, April 11, if the Keiser Seahawks beat the Webber Warriors. If Webber beats the Seahawks, then the Gyrenes can clinch their spot themselves in the season finale Saturday, April 13, against the Warriors.
That season finale is set to start at 4 p.m. Saturday in Babson Park. The game can be live streamed on the Sun Digital Network.
