Keiser Pulls Away in Third Quarter to End Reinhardt’s NAIA tournament Run

Decatur, AL - Reinhardt Women's Lacrosse carried a lead into the second quarter, but the Keiser Seahawks turned the NAIA women's lacrosse quarterfinal with a dominant third quarter and handed the Eagles a 17-7 loss Monday at the Jack Allen Complex in Decatur, Alabama. The decisive stretch came after halftime, when Keiser outscored Reinhardt 7-1 in the third quarter to break open what had been a one-goal game at the break.

The Eagles started well and were in front 3-2 after the first quarter. Mary Grace Lewis opened the scoring at 11:15 of the first, and Lainey Byrne's goal off a Miranda Petrillo assist gave Reinhardt a 3-2 edge with 2:32 left in the quarter. Reinhardt pushed the margin to 4-2 when Izzy Prestia scored off a Hayley Rakestraw assist with 5:29 remaining in the second quarter. Keiser answered before halftime, though, getting a goal from Milena Isturiz at 2:31 and then taking its first lead, 5-4, on Emily Ferris' man-up goal with 43 seconds left in the half.

That late swing set up the game's turning point. Keiser scored just four seconds into the third-quarter sequence at 13:56, when MacKenzie Gibaud finished a chance created by Jia Schweigert, and the home side kept coming. Schweigert added a power-play goal at 10:02 to make it 7-4, and Keiser continued to control possession with an 18-8 advantage in draw controls while finishing with 21 ground balls. By the time Schweigert scored again with 1:32 left in the third, the lead had grown to 11-4. Lauren Padgett scored with 40 seconds left in the quarter, assisted by Emma Perritte, but Reinhardt still entered the fourth trailing 12-5.

Rakestraw and Prestia provided most of Reinhardt's production. Prestia scored twice on two shots, and Rakestraw finished with a goal and three assists. Rakestraw's free-position goal at 11:43 of the fourth cut the deficit to 12-6, and Prestia added a man-up goal off another Rakestraw assist at 8:08 to make it 14-7. Reinhardt also got first-half goals from Lewis and Byrne, but the Eagles were limited to 14 shots, with 10 on goal, and committed 21 turnovers.

Keiser's top attackers led the separation. Schweigert finished with four goals and two assists, Gibaud had three goals and four assists, and Milena Isturiz added three goals. Reese Lynch also contributed to Keiser's ball movement and had the final goal at 3:03 of the fourth quarter, assisted by Beth Leeder, to make it 17-7. In goal, Reinhardt recorded 12 saves, while Keiser goalkeeper Raelyn Boutwell made three stops.

Keiser finished with a 37-14 advantage in shots and a 29-10 edge in shots on goal as it advanced to the national semifinals. The loss ends the season for the Eagles.  The loss was an earlier exit than the team wanted, but they look back on a successful first seasson of first-year head coach Morgan McGhee.  McGhee kept the team among the top squads around the country and in the top 5 in the final NAIA poll. The offseason will be a time to bring in new talent to go with the returners like Skylar Arroyave, Prestia, and Rakestraw. The team is in great shape and will build upon the accomplishments from the 2026 season.