AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's soccer team started the 2020 season with a bang on Saturday afternoon, rolling past the Lions of Florida Memorial University 7-1 at Gyrene Field. The season-opening win marked AMU's third consecutive Opening Day victory, and was the largest margin of victory against a conference opponent in program history.
The first 15 minutes of the game went quietly, with neither team finding the back of the net. Ave Maria finally struck in the 17th minute, when Celena Liguori handled a shot that had been blocked and placed it into the back of the net. Senior Emily Dalton got into the action in the 33rd minute, scoring the first goal of her final season on campus on an assist from Brenda Tubb. AMU added another goal in the first half, as the other two Dalton sisters combined on a goal, with Hannah assisting Sarah on a tally in the 45th minute.
Florida Memorial got their lone goal of the afternoon just over three minutes into the second half, cutting the Ave Maria lead to 3-1 on a goal from Abbie Watson, which was assisted by Brenda Angon. The goal came on Florida Memorial's only shot on goal of the day, and one of just two shots recorded by the Lions.
In the 60th minute, Emily Dalton struck again to re-extend the AMU lead to three goals. Dalton scored on an assist from Lauren Brooks, giving Ave Maria a 4-1 lead. The Gyrenes turned it on during the final 15 minutes of action, scoring three goals from the 78th minute on.
Sarah Dalton scored her second goal in the 78th minute, which came on an assist from Chiara O'Keefe. Emily Dalton logged her first career hat trick with a goal, assisted by Brooks, in the 81st minute. Tubb completed the scoring in the 85th minute, scoring an unassisted goal to finalize AMU's 7-1 romp over the visiting Lions.
Ave Maria outshot the Lions 26-2 in the season opener, and accounted for 18 of the game's 19 shots on goal. AMU's offensive output, as evidenced by her hat trick, was guided by Emily Dalton, who logged five shots on goal and seven total shots off the bench. Four of the five Gyrenes with more than one shot on goal during the match scored, and the one that did not got involved with two assists. In her first game as a Gyrene, Maddie Samuelson picked up the victory in net for AMU.
After the rout in the opener, the Gyrenes will face another opponent from south Florida on Tuesday. Ave Maria hosts the Conquistadors of Florida National at Gyrene Field, with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. as part of a men's and women's doubleheader. The match will serve as the season opener for Florida National, who earned a 2-0 victory at home last season over AMU. Ave Maria's next conference match will come at home next Saturday against St. Thomas.
