AVE MARIA, Fla. — Coming into Thursday's match, the Gyrenes were 0-15 against NCAA Division II. That all changed during the warm March afternoon as the Ave Maria Lacrosse team quintupled the Davis & Elkins Senators 15-3.
Coming off a career-high game on Tuesday, Annie Dhabliwala opened the scoring with a goal in the first two minutes of the game. The Senators evened up the score three minutes later, but that was the last time the two teams would be even on the score board.
Sophie Paige put the Gyrenes back in front with her second goal of the season. Alex Mazurczak netted the final strike of the first quarter, shooting a side arm shoot while being shoved to the ground, putting Ave Maria up 3-1.
The Gyrenes scored the first two goals of the second quarter, off the sticks of Lily Hynds and Dhabliwala, to take a 5-1. Davis & Elkins got their second goal of the game with a little over five minutes left to play in the half but just couldn't keep up with the Gyrenes' pressure.
Ave Maria ended the half with two more goals, the first by Anna Bocchino and the second by Hynds. The latter goal from Hynds came with just 17 seconds remaining in the frame and dealt a crushing blow to the Senators' morale as they were trying to escape to the break. The Gyrenes went into halftime up 7-2.
Davis & Elkins opened the third quarter with a goal just 17 seconds in the frame, but that ended up being their last goal of the game.
The Gyrenes scored five unanswered goals to close out the third quarter. Freshman Maura Barnes scored AMU's first goal of the quarter, getting a feed from Dhabliwala. The next two goals were then scored by Dhabliwala as the junior from South Carolina turned in yet another five-point performance.
Mazurczak notched the next score for the Gyrenes, getting her second goal of the game. Barnes closed out the frame with her second goal of the quarter, putting Ave Maria up 12-3 with 15 minutes left to play.
AMU played smothering defense in the fourth quarter and added three more goals to secure the win. Bocchino scored the first goal of the frame which turned on the running clock for the third time this season. Allison Fifield netted the final two goals to give the Gyrenes their winning score of 15-3.
"I think we just played a really complete game," said head coach Katelyn Sherman following the historic win. "Everyone that was out there was truly playing for each other and we just played really clean lacrosse. It may [have been] the most cohesive we have played this season."
Dhabliwala led the team in points for the fourth game in row, recording six off four goals and two assists. Six other Gyrenes had multi-point games with Fifield, Mazurczak, Paige and Bocchino each with three and Barnes and Hynds each with two.
In the midfield, Hynds led the team with six draw controls as Ave Maria out drew the Senators 11-8.
Defensively Elie Coyle led the team with 11 ground balls and four caused turnovers.
In goal, Francesca Pieniadz made five saves against eight shots in her fourth win of the season.
With the first ever win over an NCAA Division II program, the Gyrenes improve to 4-1 overall.
Ave Maria is back in action Sunday, March 8, as they host the Lawrence Tech Blue Devils. In the latest NAIA Top 10 polls, Ave Maria was ranked ninth in the country, one spot ahead of Lawrence Tech. The Gyrenes will look to justify that order and win their first ever game against the Blue Devils in program history. Opening draw is set for noon and the match will be streamed live on the Urban Edge Network.
