LAKELAND, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's soccer team concluded its 2018 season on Saturday afternoon, falling just short in a 2-1 defeat to Southeastern University in Lakeland. The Gyrenes attempted to rally from a two-goal deficit, but could not complete the comeback despite a second half goal.

The Fire scored twice in the first half to jump out to a 2-0 lead. In the 19th minute, Jake Van Der Luit got the ball on passes from Craig Barker and James Paylor, and put it past the goalkeeper to give Southeastern a 1-0 lead. Then, in the 37th minute, Jonathan Jimenez scored his second goal of the season off an assist from Luke Marchesani, putting it past the goalie to give the Fire a 2-0 lead at halftime.

Ave Maria's final goal of the season came on a penalty kick in the 48th minute. Kaveon Dux stepped up and buried his shot in the back of net for his 15th goal of the season. Dux finishes his first season on campus with 15 goals and three assists, setting new AMU records for both goals and points (33). The penalty kick was his third of the season, with all three attempts finding the back of the net.

The Gyrenes could not come up with the equalizer, falling 2-1 to the Fire. Southeastern outshot the Gyrenes 21-8 in the contest, with eleven of the Fire's shots going on goal. Ave's attack was led by four shots from Dux and three shots on goal from Alex Wilcox. In his final game in an AMU uniform, Andrea Salomone made nine saves. 

AMU finishes the 2018 season with a program record seven victories, which included conference triumphs over Webber International and Florida Memorial. The Gyrenes are set to return their top five goalscorers for the 2019 season despite losing a strong group of seniors.