DECATUR, Ala. — For the first time in program history, the Ave Maria Lacrosse team competed in an NAIA National Championship game Monday evening. The Gyrenes earned an at-large bid and was the seventh seed in the eight team tournament. Unfortunately, Ave Maria was dealt an early exit as they fell to the Cumberlands Patriots 14-11.
The Gyrenes scored with ease and had multiple leads throughout the first quarter. However, the Patriots defense clamped down in the middle quarters as they built a large enough lead to hold onto for the rest of the match.
Ave Maria opened the scoring 40 seconds into the match with an unassisted goal from Annie Dhabliwala. Maura Barnes extended AMU's lead to 2-0 with another goal a minute later. Barnes crashed towards the crease and buried a feed from Sophie Paige.
The Patriots scored the next three goals to take their first lead of the match.
Dhabliwala scored her second goals of the quarter immediately after Cumberlands' goal that took the lead to tie the game at three.
After another Cumberlands' goal, Ave Maria closed the quarter with two goals. Dhabliwala scored both goals with the second one being on a man-advantage.
After the first frame, Ave Maria led the Cumberlands 5-4. It was the first time in series history that the Gyrenes led the Patriots after the first quarter.
However, the Cumberlands' defense was able to slow the Gyrenes down in the middle frames. The Patriots outscored Ave Maria 6-2 in the middle 30 minutes of the game.
The Patriots opened the scoring in the second quarter, but the Gyrenes immediately responded with another goal from Dhabliwala. The senior's fifth goal of the afternoon gave Ave Maria their final lead in the game at 6-5.
The Cumberlands scored two more times in the second quarter and took a 7-6 lead into the break.
In the third quarter, Angelina Diesslin got on the scoresheet with a strike off a feed from Barnes. The two freshmen tied the match at seven, but the Patriots responded with three straight goals to take a 10-7 lead.
Ave Maria scored twice in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, cutting the lead down to one. Dhabliwala scored the first one with her sixth and final goal of the contest. Allison Fifield got on the scoresheet for the first time with a strike right in front of the crease.
The Gyrenes had just one more goal to make up to tie the game, but the Patriots had other plans. The Cumberlands scored four straight goals, taking the largest lead of the afternoon at five. Ave Maria found the back of the net two more times in the final three minutes of the game, but the final buzzer sounded before the Gyrenes could make up any more ground.
Individually, Dhabliwala led the team in scoring with six points off six goals. Four other Gyrenes logged multi-goal games as Barnes, Fifield, Paige and Diesslin all recorded two points.
In the midfield, Ave Maria outdrew the Cumberlands 15-11. Dhabliwala led the team with seven draw controls, followed by Haley Chapman at five and Lily Hynds at three.
Chapman also led the team defensively with three caused turnovers. Madeline Hicks was second on the team with two. Chapman and Hicks also tied for the team lead in ground balls, each with three.
In goal, Francesca Pieniadz stopped seven of 21 shots.
With the loss, Ave Maria finishes the 2026 season with an 11-7 record. It is the most wins in a season for the Gyrenes and Monday was their first ever appearance at the NAIA National Championship. Ave Maria made the National Tournament back when it was an invitational in 2017 but had not qualified since the it was elevated to Championship status by the NAIA in 2021.
With the historic season in the books, the Gyrenes now patiently wait for summer to pass, fall to halt and winter to cease before they can return to the field in February and begin the road back to Decatur all over again.
