AVE MARIA, Fla. — It was a Top 10 matchup in Southwest Florida Thursday night, and the No. 8 Ave Maria Lacrosse team came out on top, beating the No.7 Life Running Eagles 8-6. A crucial third quarter was the difference maker for the Gyrenes.
Ave Maria opened the scoring with the first three goals of the match in the first quarter. Allison Fifield netted the first goal for the Gyrenes, bouncing a ball past the keeper and into the net. Fifield then made it a multi-goal game as she buried a feed from Lily Hynds to put AMU up 2-0.
Alex Mazurczak scored the third goal, leaping up to receive a pass from Sophie Paige and slamming the ball home.
Life got a goal back in the final minute of the frame to cut the lead to two.
In the second quarter, the Running Eagles kept the Gyrenes off the board for the entire 15 minutes. The Gyrenes took four shots on goal during the frame, but they were all saved by the goalie. On the other end of the field, Life scored twice to tie the game at three heading into the break.
For the second game in a row, the Gyrenes were entering the third quarter tied with their  opponent in a top-10 matchup. However, unlike the Keiser match, Ave Maria dominated the third quarter and retook the lead.
Defensively, the Gyrenes held the Running Eagles to just one shot on goal in the third quarter, which was saved by Francesca Pieniadz. Life turned the ball over seven times in the quarter, three of which were caused by a Gyrene.
In the offensive zone, Ave Maria got two goals 74 seconds apart, both from Annie Dhabliwala, for her first points of the game. The back-to-back goals put the Gyrenes up 5-3 heading into the final quarter.
In the fourth, Fifield opened the scoring with her third goal of the season, tying her season high. Life scored two goals after that to get back within one of the Gyrenes, but Ave Maria kept their cool. Mazurczak netted her second strike of the game to give AMU their two goal cushion back. It ended up being the game-winning goal as Life scored one more goal to make the score 7-6.
Ave Maria ran the clock out for the final minutes of the match and got an empty net, free position shot goal from Angelina Dieslin in the final two seconds after a foul from the Running Eagles goalie.
When the final horn sounded, the Gyrenes notched their second win of the season over a top-10 team.
After the game, head coach Katelyn Sherman said at halftime that the Gyrenes focused on the positives instead of dwelling on the negatives, and that is what led to taking control of the game in the third quarter. "The biggest thing for us is we were just like, 'Don't stop shooting.' We didn't want those attempts to discourage the team. And we just said keep shooting, keep placing the ball, and eventually it will go in."
Individually, Fifield led the team with three points. Hynds, Dhabliwala and Mazurczak also logged a multi-point game.
In the midfield, Hynds led the team with six draw controls. Ave Maria dominated the circle and outdrew the Running Eagles 12-4.
Defensively, the Gyrenes ended the match with nine caused turnovers. Four were from Haley Chapman and three were from Fifield.
In goal, Pieniadz made six saves as she earned her eighth win of the season. That ties her with Emily Durr in 2025 for the most wins in a season as a goal keeper.
With the win, Ave Maria improves to 8-5 overall and 2-2 in Sun Conference play. The Gyrenes move into third place in the standings with two games left on the schedule.
The Gyrenes are back in action Thursday, April 23, as they head over to Miami Gardens to take on the St. Thomas Bobcats. Ave Maria already beat St. Thomas 15-7 in a non-conference game February 25. Opening draw is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the Urban Edge Network.
