LAKE WALES, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's soccer team left Lake Wales on Wednesday night with a point, following a 1-1 draw with the Warner University Royals. The Gyrenes led for more than 70 minutes during regulation, but a late equalizer from the Royals and 20 scoreless minutes of overtime sent both teams home with a draw.

Less than seven minutes into the match, the Gyrenes struck first on a set piece. Following a Warner foul, Raphael Rodriguez set up for a free kick, and proceeded to bury the approach into the top corner of the net. The goal was the first of the season for the senior, who had five assists without scoring a goal entering Wednesday night's match.

Neither team would score for the remainder of the first half, despite continuing pressure on the net from the Gyrenes. Ave Maria took all six of the shots on goal during the opening 45 minutes, held an 8-4 lead in total shots, and had four opportunities on corner kicks. None of the ensuing chances ended in a goal, keeping the match at 1-0 into the second half. 

After more than 30 scoreless minutes in the second half, Warner came up with an equalizer in the 79th minute. Francisco Cabrera found the back of the net for the Royals, evening the match at one. Both teams had chances to win the match in the final ten minutes, but each goalkeeper made two late saves to send the match into overtime.

In overtime, the ball was mostly kept in the center of the field, with just three shots taken between the two teams. Ave Maria and Warner both had shots on goal in overtime, with Warner getting an opportunity from Dawson Johnson in the 98th minute and Ave Maria's chance coming on a shot on goal from Luis Ortiz in the 109th minute. Neither team could score in the 20 minutes of overtime, leaving the match a draw.

Ave Maria's offensive effort was led by Rodriguez, who logged six shots on goal in the draw. Multiple shots on goal were also recorded by Josh Gaeng and Luis Ortiz. In net, Carlos Contreras stopped five of Warner's six shots.

Both of Ave Maria's final two games will come against the Seahawks of Keiser University, who clinched The Sun Conference's regular season championship on Wednesday night. The first of the two meetings between the Gyrenes and the Seahawks is scheduled for Saturday at Gyrene Field, with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m. The season finale will come in West Palm Beach on Tuesday morning at 11:00 a.m.