AVE MARIA, Fla.— The defense of the Ave Maria Lady Gyrenes proved to be too strong for the Clearwater Christian College Cougars on Tuesday afternoon. AMU would go on to defeat the Cougars 2-0, recording their second shutout of the season. The Lady Gyrenes will hit the road this Thursday to take on the Johnson and Wales Wildcats in a Sun Conference matchup.

AMU was able to break through first, when Sophomore Anne Bateman stole the ball from a Cougars defender and was able to beat the Clearwater Christian keeper. The goal was Bateman's fifth of the year and gave the Lady Gyrenes the 1-0 lead, midway through the first half.

The Ave Maria defense would continue to clamp down, holding the Cougars scoreless through the first half and would take a 1-0 lead into the half.

The second half would begin much like the first, with both defenses keeping each other off the scoreboard. The Lady Gyrenes would knock in their second goal of the afternoon, when Victoria Johnson would beat the Cougars defense for her second goal of the year. Johnson's goal was assisted by Anna Koerner.

Goalkeeper Francesca Singleton made 3 saves in net for the Lady Gyrenes. The shutout was the second of the season for Ave Maria.

With the win Ave Maria improves to 4-8 on the season.

The Blue and Green will return to action on Thursday, October 23, when they travel to take on Johnson and Wales University. Kickoff for this Sun Conference battle is set for 1:00 p.m. The Lady Gyrenes were able to defeat the Wildcats 1-0 in their first meeting earlier this season.