AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's soccer team just missed out on overtime with the Southeastern University Fire on Saturday afternoon, falling 2-1 at Gyrene Field. The Gyrenes had several good opportunities at an equalizer in the closing moments of the match, but could not convert in the second meeting of the season between the two schools.

Both teams found the back of the net in the first half, leaving the match tied at one after 45 minutes. Southeastern's tally came in the ninth minute, when a rebound of an SEU shot bounced to Paulos Beraki, who scored for the third time this season. Beraki's goal put Southeastern on the board first, giving the Fire the 1-0 edge. 

Ave Maria responded later in the first half, scoring on an attack in the 27th minute. A slew of sharp passes set up Cameron Barford near the net, and the final pass found the foot of Josh Gaeng for a goal. The goal was the third of the season for Gaeng, and also marked the first assist of the campaign for Barford. Neither team would score in the final 18 minutes of the first half, leaving the match even heading into the second half. 

Early in the second half, Southeastern responded with the goal that proved to be the game-winner. SEU's Evandro Henrique found himself with an open shot left of the goal, and was able to beat the goalkeeper for his second strike of the 2020 season. Henrique's goal was the final of the day for either team, despite a few crucial opportunities for AMU.

The Gyrenes nearly evened the match in the closing moments, as a perfect cross was placed into the net by Gaeng. However, the forward was just ahead of the last defender, and was called offsides. Southeastern would avoid any more major threats in the final seconds, and would leave Gyrene Field with the 2-1 win.

Southeastern outshot the Gyrenes 15-6 in the match, including a 10-4 edge in shots on goal. The Fire also had seven opportunities to score on corner kicks, while Ave Maria had just four. The second half saw the intensity pick up between the teams, with five yellow cards given out and 14 fouls called.

Gaeng was the lone Gyrene to log two shots in the match, both of which were attempts on goal, including his finish. Shots were also attempted by goalkeeper Carlos Contreras, Matias Carbone, Barford, and Nikola Vinski. In net, Contreras made five saves for AMU. Southeastern was led by four shots on goal from Henrique and two each from Beraki and Conceicao. Jonathan Wojciki earned the win with three saves.

Wednesday marks the next game on the Ave Maria schedule, as the Gyrenes travel to Lake Wales to take on the Warner University Royals. The game will be crucial in seeding for The Sun Conference Tournament, with the winning team almost certainly earning the number five seed in the conference tournament. Kickoff in Lake Wales is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.