HARDEEVILLE, S.C.- The Ave Maria University lacrosse team fell victim to a surge from the Bees of SCAD-Savannah on Saturday, falling 13-7 in Hardeeville to the third ranked team in the nation in the newest NAIA Coaches' Poll. After tying the game at four early in the second quarter, the Bees scored six straight goals, accounting for the final margin in a battle between two of the top seven teams in the nation.

The game had a fast start, with SCAD's Ellen Benintendi and Ave Maria's Alexandra Mazurczak both scoring in the first minute of the contest. SCAD controlled much from the first quarter for the remainder of the 14 minutes, scoring three of the four goals to take a 4-2 lead. The lone interruption in that stretch came from Anna Bocchino, who scored from AMU with 1:21 remaining in the quarter to cut the SCAD lead to 3-2.

Ave Maria had an ideal start to the second quarter, tying the game with back-to-back goals. Annie Dhabliwala scored with 12:18 on the clock to cut the SCAD lead to one, and Sophie Paige tied the game with 11:04 on the clock. The initial Ave Maria surge, however, gave way to a run from the Bees. SCAD scored five unanswered goals to close the first half, taking a 9-4 lead into the halftime break.

The third quarter was a defensive slugfest, as the two teams combined to put just three shots on goal. More than 13 minutes passed before either team could put the ball into the back of the net, with McKinsey Brown's goal with 1:30 on the clock upping SCAD's lead to 10-4, where it stood at the end of the frame.

AMU tried to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to 10-6 with 6:14 remaining on Dhabliwala's second goal of the game and a man-advantage goal from Bocchino. However, SCAD answered the Ave Maria run with three consecutive goals to put the game away. AMU concluded the scoring in the final minute, thanks to a goal from Lily Hynds.

The duo of Dhabiwala and Bocchino provided four of Ave Maria's seven goals, with each player scoring two. Mazurczak, who scored Ave Maria's first goal of the day, led the team with five ground balls. The defensive effort was led by Haley Chapman, Madeleine Hicks, and Allison Fifield, all of whom had four caused turnovers. Fifield and Chapman also had two draw controls each.

After Easter Week, the Gyrenes return to play on Thursday, April 9 for a home game against the Royals of Warner University. The Gyrenes have dominated the all-time series with the Royals, going 4-0 over the past three years and winning the games by an average of 17.5 goals per game. Opening draw is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Gyrene Field, with the broadcast available on Urban Edge Network.