MIAMI, Fla.- The Ave Maria men's soccer team forced overtime in the final ten minutes of regulation, but fell short for the second match in a row, 3-2, to the Lions of Florida Memorial University. Saturday's conference match was a rematch of Ave Maria's season opener, which saw the Lions claim a 4-2 victory at Gyrene Field on August 24.
A fortuitous bounce of the ball put the Gyrenes ahead 1-0 in the 28th minute. A free kick from roughly 45 yards out from Raphael Rodriguez bounced off the hands of the FMU goalkeeper, and proceeded to roll into the back of the net for an Ave Maria goal. Rodriguez's first goal of the season extended AMU's streak of scoring at least one goal to six consecutive matches, and gave the Gyrenes a 1-0 lead.
Florida Memorial answered with two goals in the final ten minutes of the first half. After a handball in the box, Caleb Acosta converted on a penalty kick in the 36th minute to tie the match at one. Then, with less than a minute to play in the half, an attempt to clear by the Gyrenes was deflected by Jose Romero into the net, pushing the Lions ahead 2-1 at halftime.
John Gokey came up with AMU's equalizer in the 81st minute, eventually sending the match to overtime. Gokey freed himself some space between a pair of FMU defenders, and placed a perfect shot just inside the far goalpost for his first goal of the season. Gokey's goal with less than ten minutes left sent the match to overtime when neither team could score in the final nine minutes of regulation.
Ave Maria had an opportunity to win the match in overtime, but a penalty kick was turned away by the Lion goalkeeper. Less than a minute later, a counter attack saw Romero score on an assist from Paolo Caro to win the match for the Lions in the 95th minute.
The Gyrenes will return to the Miami area on Wednesday for a meeting with the Bobcats of St. Thomas University. The Bobcats are currently ranked 13th in the nation in the newest NAIA Coaches' Poll, and entered play on Saturday with a 6-0 record. Kickoff in Miami Gardens at the STU Soccer Field is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
