LAKELAND, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's soccer team played their first-ever Sun Conference Tournament game on Saturday evening, taking on the third seeded Southeastern University Fire in Lakeland. The Gyrenes lost 3-0 to the Fire in the quarterfinals of The Sun Conference Tournament at the SEU Soccer Field, ending AMU's fall season. With the win, Southeastern will face St. Thomas in Miami Gardens on Tuesday in the semifinal round.

Southeastern got on the board in the 22nd minute, scoring what proved to be the game-winning goal. Just over 21 minutes into the match, passes from Noah Richmond and Julian Hall eventually found the foot of Julian Hall, who placed his shot into the bottom right corner for a goal. Hall's goal was his sixth of the season, and gave the Fire a 1-0 lead that would last for the next 23 minutes, keeping the Gyrenes within one goal entering the halftime break.

The Fire then added two more goals in the second half to pull away from the Gyrenes. The first goal came in the 63rd minute, as a cross from Grayson Wilkes was sent into the net by Hall, who scored his second goal of the night and seventh goal of the season. The final goal of the night was provided by Bruno Conceicao on an assist from Joshua Ruckdeschel. The goal from Conceicao was his third of the season, and concluded the scoring for the night.

Ave Maria actually outshot Southeastern in the quarterfinal contest, logging 15 shots to eleven for the Fire. Southeastern did hold a 5-4 advantage in shots on goal. AMU had numerous scoring chances during the match, taking eight corner kicks. The game proved to be a contentious affair between the Sun Conference rivals, as seven yellow cards and two red cards were handed out. 

AMU's lead in the shots department was powered by Nikola Vinski, who logged six total shots and two shots on goal. Josh Gaeng added three shotsm while John Gokey and Matias Carbone each had two. Carlos Contreras made two saves in his final game of the fall, while Southeastern goalkeeper Jonathan Wojciki made four saves in his shutout win. 

This fall season ends for Ave Maria with a 3-10-1 record that included two victories over Florida Memorial and a home win over Webber International. Due to the altered schedules of the 2020 NAIA season, all teams that competed in the fall, such as teams in The Sun Conference, will be eligible to play regular season games in the spring, when other conferences across the nation play their regular seasons.