[Women's Lacrosse] Seniors shine in victory over Spires
St. Ambrose got a big Senior Day win Sunday against St. Mary at the St. Vincent's Athletic Complex in Davenport. SAU recognized Avery Cummins, Maura Healy, Lauren Hoesly, Allie Ruggiero, and Mckenna Palmer pregame for their time with the program. The seniors showed out in the 19-6 victory over the Spires, with each of them scoring at least one goal, outside of Cummins who did not dress. Ruggiero also became the second player in program history to reach 100 career points. St. Ambrose is now 8-2 overall and 4-2 in the KCAC.
Hoesly got the first goal on Senior Day off a feed from Sarah Diehl, but the visitors answered with a score from Karlee Graves to make it 1-1 with 11:53 to go in the first quarter. The Bees went on a six-goal spurt to take a 7-1 lead getting three goals from Audrey Warner, two from Morgan Curzon, and one from Maddie Wiltrout in a six-minute span. Graves put another one in the net for St. Mary to make it a five-goal lead for SAU with 5:30 left in the frame. Ruggiero would find Hoesly and Wiltrout for scores to put the Bees up seven, but Paige Ecton got a goal for the visitors to make it 9-3 heading into the second.
The St. Ambrose defense would pitch a shutout in the second quarter, allowing just three shots by the Spires in the period. SAU used scores from Ruggiero, Warner, Abby Varkalis, and two from Curzon to take a 14-3 halftime lead.
St. Mary would net the first goal coming out of the break, getting another score from Graves to make it 14-4 with 14:24 left in the third quarter. Palmer got on the scoresheet for the Bees to make it an eleven-score game with 11:19 to go in the frame. Hoesly would get her third of the day with 4:17 remaining to give SAU a 16-4 lead heading into the final quarter.
Healy joined the scoresheet in the fourth quarter, converting a free position attempt to make it 17-4 with 13:26 left in the game. Ecton would notch another for St. Mary, but SAU responded with goals from Abby Taaffe and Mackenzie Zions to make it 19-5 with 5:40 remaining. The Spires would get one more goal to account for the final score.
Hoesly and Ruggiero both had a seven-point performance in the victory, with Hoesly scoring three goals with four assists, while Ruggiero scored once and had a game-high six assists. Curzon and Warner tied for a game-high four goals. Alivia Uebersetzig led the way in caused turnovers with three, followed by Healy, Hoesly, and Zions with two each.
Katie Burr and Julieanna Hess split time in goal for St. Ambrose, with Burr making two saves and Hess three.
St. Ambrose will travel to Indianapolis on April 5th to take on Butler University at 2 p.m.