AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria Lacrosse team played a strong opening 30 minutes and led the No. 1 SCAD Bees 7-5 at halftime. However, the Gyrenes were outscored 12-3 in the final two quarters of the game as they fell 17-10.
SCAD opened the scoring almost immediately, scoring the first goal of the game just 16 seconds after the opening draw. However, that was the only time the Bees would lead in the first half.
About two minutes later, Alexandra Mazurczak tied the game with the Gyrenes' first goal, burying a nice feed from Shaffrey. Mazurczak then assisted on the next goal as Abbey Seiler put AMU in front 2-1.
The Bees tied the game at two about a minute later, but Claire Ichniowski put Ave Maria back in front after a turnover in the midfield led to an odd-man rush for the Gyrenes. Mazurczak got her third point of the game, assisting on the goal.
Seiler got her second goal of the game a few minutes later to put the Gyrenes up by two. SCAD scored the final goal of the frame, but the Gyrenes still led 4-3 at the quarter break.
The second quarter was a little tighter than the first, but the Gyrenes closed strongly to retain their lead.
The Bees got the first goal of the second quarter to tie the game at four, but Ichniowski put the Gyrenes in front again with a goal assisted by Sieler. Ave Maria held onto to the 5-4 lead for about six minutes before SCAD tied it once again.
In the final 90 seconds of the half, the Gyrenes struck twice to take a lead into halftime. Shaffrey scored the first goal unassisted, wrapping around the crease and slinging the ball into the top right corner of the net. Lily Hynds got the second goal with just 21 second left on the clock, getting a feed from Shaffrey right in front of the crease.
The Gyrenes were feeling really good about leading the top team in the country through the first 30 minutes, but then the wheels fell off in the third and fourth quarters.
SCAD got two quick goals to open the third and tie the game at seven. Annie Dhabliwala scored her first goal of the night to give Ave Maria their last lead of the game.
The Bees then scored nine goals in a row across the next 14 minutes to take a 16-8 lead in the middle of the fourth quarter.
The Gyrenes got their final two goals in the fourth quarter, both off the stick of Mazurczak, but the deficit was to large to comeback from. SCAD scored the final goal of the game with under two minutes to play and waited out the clock for 17-10 win.
Mazurczak and Shaffrey tied for the team lead in points, each with five. Mazurczak had three goals and two assists, her third straight game with a hat-trick. Shaffrey had one goal and four assists. Her four assists brings her season total to 28, which is a new program record at Ave Maria. She passes her previous record of 26, which she set last season. The four best seasons for assists in program history all belong to Shaffrey.
Seiler and Ichniowski were the other two Gyrenes with multi-point games at three and two, respectively.
In the midfield, Hynds led the team with six draw controls. Defensively, four Gyrenes had two caused turnovers and Madeliene Hicks and Mazurczak tied for the team lead with four ground balls. In net, Emily Durr made seven saves.
With the loss, Ave Maria falls to 1-1 in conference play and 3-7 overall. The Gyrenes are in three-way tie for third place with Life and Warner in the Sun Conference standings. Ave Maria has the tiebreaker over Life, having won the head-to-head March 15, and they play Warner next.
That game against the Royals is Saturday, March 22, in Lake Wales, Florida. The Gyrenes are 2-0 all time against Warner and have outscored the Royals 38-9 across the two matches. Opening draw is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
