MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's soccer team struck for five first-half goals on Saturday evening, and secured a Sun Conference victory on the road over Florida Memorial University, 5-3.
The win was Ave Maria's first conference victory since October 26, 2011. Entering the season, Ave Maria had never beaten Florida Memorial; this season's Gyrenes are 2-0 against the Lions. It was also Ave Maria's first two-match winning streak since 2011, when AMU earned wins over Clearwater Christian and Northwood.
Ave Maria jumped out to a lead in the fifth minute of the match. With the assist of Hernando Valencia and Juan Carlos Bucaram, John Gokey found the back of the net for his first career collegiate goal.
The next 20 minutes of action proved to be the Alejandro Echeverria show. The senior scored three times in the first half, tallying goals in the 13th, 19th, and 23rd minutes. It was the first hat trick of Echeverria's career, and the fourth hat trick in program history. On Echeverria's three goals, assists were recorded by Bucaram, Hernando Valencia, Josh Roberge, and Kensley Jean Baptiste. Jean Baptiste capped off the first half with his sixth goal of the season in the 33rd minute.
Florida Memorial attempted to rally in the second half. Luis Martinez-Flores scored in the 54th minute, and a frantic scramble in the final five minutes saw Ivan Jelic score twice, in the 86th and 90th minutes, to pull the Lions within two. Florida Memorial outshot the Gyrenes in shots on goal, 8-6, despite falling to AMU.
Andrea Salomone played the entire match in net for the Gyrenes, and stopped five FMU shots to preserve the road victory for the Gyrenes. The game saw 21 fouls whistled, and two yellow cards handed out to the Lions.
With a conference victory in their possession, the Gyrenes remain on the road for two games next week. Ave Maria faces an NCAA opponent on Thursday against Nova Southeastern, in a game that was originally scheduled for September 9 in Fort Lauderdale. The week ends Saturday with AMU on the road against the Bees of SCAD-Savannah.
