LAKELAND, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's soccer team fell victim to two second half goals on Saturday afternoon, and dropped a 2-0 decision to the Southeastern University Fire at the SEU Soccer Stadium in Lakeland. The meeting was the first of two between the schools this season, with the return trip coming on Halloween morning, October 31 at 11 a.m..

Both teams had opportunities to score in the first half, but the score remained 0-0 for the entirety of the opening 45 minutes. The Gyrenes and the Fire combined for 19 shots in the first half, with nine of those shots going on the goal. Ave Maria also had six opportunties on corner kicks, while Southeastern had two chances from the corner. Efforts from AMU goalkeeper Carlos Contreras and SEU goalie Jonathan Wojciki sent the game into the second half scoreless.

Southeastern broke the ice just under ten minutes into the second half, taking a 1-0 lead. Julian Hass sent a cross into the middle of the field, and Colin Horn scored his third goal of the season by placing the ball into the bottom of the net. The goal in the 55th minute proved to be the game-winner, and came on the Fire's second shot of the second half.

The Fire kept the 1-0 lead intact until the closing moments of the match, when an insurance goal put the contest out of reach. In the 90th minute, with just 41 seconds left on the clock, Hall scored an unassisted goal to account for the final 2-0 score. The goal from the middle of the field was Hall's fourth of the season, and marked his second contribution to the final line.

Saturday's game, despite just two goals finding the back of the net, was an offensively minded contest. AMU and Southeastern combined to take 29 shots, and had 14 total opportunities on corner kicks. Of the 29 attempted shots, 15 challenged the goalkeepers. 

Josh Gaeng was Ave Maria's most active attacker, logging four shots and a pair of shots on goal. AMU's other three shots on goal were provided by Cedric Georges, Nikola Vinski, and Cameron Barford. Matias Carbone and Luis Ortiz both attempted two shots, as well. In net, Contreras made a save on eight of Southeastern's ten shots on goal, and was able to keep Ave Maria in the match for nearly all of the 90 minutes.

Following back-to-back road matches this week, the Gyrenes will be back on campus on Wednesday night. Ave Maria will welcome the Royals of Warner University to Gyrene Field for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff. Warner enters the match with a 1-4 record, and an 0-3 mark in conference play. Both teams lost by two goals to their only common opponent in Southeastern.