AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's soccer team continued to assert their dominance over the Lions of Florida Memorial University on Saturday afternoon, leading for all but two minutes and ten seconds in a 5-1 victory at Gyrene Field. Ave Maria moves to 2-0 on the season, with both wins coming at home against Florida Memorial. AMU is 2-0 for just the second time in school history - the 2011 squad followed a similar formula, defeating a conference rival (Johnson & Wales) first in non-conference play, then in a conference contest.
Less than four minutes into the match, the Gyrenes had a 2-0 lead. The first of those goals came in the third minute, when a corner kick from Raphael Rodriguez found the foot of Luis Ortiz, who scored his first goal as a Gyrene. John Gokey then followed just 84 seconds later by beating the goalkeeper for his first goal of the season, with an assist credited to Josh Gaeng. Just three minutes and 34 seconds into the contest, Ave Maria had taken a lead they would not relinqish.
Florida Memorial would get one of those goals back in the 24th minute, when a low shot from Tajay Russell beat the AMU goalkeeper to cut the Gyrene lead to 2-1. The Gyrenes would take a two-goal lead into halftime, thanks to a goal in the 30th minute. A corner kick from Ulises Soto was on target to Sebastian Foltz, who finished the cross into the back of the net for what was his first goal at AMU. Foltz's tally allowed AMU some breathing room at halftime, 3-1.
The score would remain 3-1 for much of the second half, but two goals in the final 12 minutes sealed Ave Maria's second straight win. In the 79th minute, Nikola Vinski assisted on a goal from Ortiz, his second of the match. Ortiz logged a multi-goal effort when he followed up a deflected shot for a rebound. Vinski then got in on the action himself in the 83rd minute, scoring on a free kick to provide the final margin of victory for Ave Maria. The four-goal win tied the highest margin of victory in a conference game in program history - the Gyrenes also defeated FMU 5-1 in 2018.
Ave Maria outshot Florida Memorial 18-1 in the victory, with 12 of those Gyrene shots coming on goal. Ortiz was AMU's most active offensive player, scoring twice on four shots on goal and six total shots. Gokey also added three shots, all of which tested the goalkeeper. In fact, every Gyrene that attempted a shot on goal in the victory either scored or assisted on a goal.
AMU's first game against someone other than Florida Memorial will come on Tuesday, when the Gyrenes welcome the Falcons of Florida College to Gyrene Field. Florida College, who are playing only non-conference games this fall, hold a 1-0 record after a 2-1 win over Webber International University on Monday. The match, which will serve as the opener of a soccer doubleheader, is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. in Ave Maria.
