AVE MARIA, Fla. — It was a historic night as the Ave Maria Lacrosse team hosted their first ever postseason game. The Gyrenes punctuated the historic night with a big win, beating the Warner Royals 20-1 in the Sun Conference Quarterfinal.
Ave Maria scored the first 17 goals of the game and shutout the Royals for 55 of the 60 minutes.
The Gyrenes notched seven goals in the first quarter, their highest scoring of the night. Hannah Shaffrey got the party started with a goal just one minute and 45 seconds into play. Annie Dhabliwala led the team with a hat trick in the opening quarter. Shaffrey was behind her with two goals and Abigial Seiler and Alexandra Mazurczak each had one. Shaffrey also assisted on the Seiler goal while Liz Nowak got her second assist of the season, helping out on Dhabliwala's first goal.
Ave Maria found the back of the net four more times in the second quarter, all from four different players. Shaffrey and Dhabliwala each added to their total while Lily Hynds and Anna Bocchino got their first goals of the game. Dhabliwala's goal put the Gyrenes up 10-0 and started the running clock just five minutes into the frame. It was the earliest this season Ave Maria has started the running clock on an opponent. Bocchino's goal was the final of the frame and the Gyrenes took an 11-0 lead into halftime.
The third quarter saw three more goals for the Gyrenes, again from three different goal scorers. Mazurczak started the scoring with her second goal of the night, followed by Shaffrey on a man advantage and Seiler just a few minutes later.
The Gyrenes scored the first three goals of the fourth quarter to go up 17-0. Shaffrey scored two of them, bringing her game total to six. Her two goals were split by a goal from Alison Fifield, her first of the game.
With just five minutes remaining, Warner scored their only goal, breaking up the shutout for Ave Maria. It is the fourth time in program history and the second time this season the Gyrenes have only allowed one goal in a game. The first one-goal game in 2025 was the regular season finale Saturday, April 12, against the New College of Florida Mighty Banyans.
Upset by the blown shutout, the Gyrenes made the Royals pay with three more goals in the final three minutes. Claire Ichniowski scored the first goal and was followed by Seiler just over a minute later. With just three seconds remaining on the clock, Ichniowski netted the final strike, slamming home a feed from Shaffrey right in front of an open net. The running clock hit zero as the Gyrenes celebrated the final goal.
After the final goal and horn, the seniors, especially the two who contributed to the goal, Ichniowski and Shaffrey, took a moment to hug each other and soak in their final home game at Gyrene Field.
"Just seeing them [for the] last time at Gyrene Field, as an alum I know how that feels. I think, just seeing them all come together and recognizing that this group is has been through a lot and just loving each other and celebrating their time here, it was really special and really cool to see them [do that]," said head coach Katelyn Sherman.
Five players had a multi-point game in the quarterfinal. Shaffrey led the way with 10 points off six goals and four assists. Dhabliwala was next with five points off four goals and one assist, followed by Seiler at three off three goals. Ichniowski and Mazurczak rounded out the group, each with two points off two goals.
In the midfield, Hynds led the team with five draw controls. Defensively, Elie Coyle caused a career-high six turnovers. Fifield and Bocchino also caused multiple turnovers.
Emily Durr made her 13
th start of the season and stopped four shots on her way to record setting eight wins in one season. Her four saves also brings her to 203 career saves, taking sole possession of the second-most saves in AMU history.
With the win, Ave Maria improves to 8-8 on the year and advances to the Sun Conference Semifinals in Savannah, Georgia. The Gyrenes will take on the second seeded SCAD Bees Friday, April 19, with a trip to the conference championship on the line. The first time the Gyrenes played the Bees they had a two-goal lead at halftime, but SCAD stormed back in the second half to win the match.
"There were some things [that game] that weren't exactly how we planned and we kind of need to respond better and really just go out 100 percent. We know they are a tough team and they are a respectful team, but we have that talent, energy and mindset to go out and win the game," said Sherman.
Opening draw for the semifinal is 2 p.m. Friday, April 19, and the game will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
