AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's soccer team came up just short on Saturday afternoon, falling 1-0 in double overtime to the Bobcats of St. Thomas University at Gyrene Field. The defeat came despite a gutsy effort from an AMU team that played 10-on-11 for the entirety of the second half and overtime. It also continued a streak of close games between the Sun Conference's two Catholic institutions, as three of the last five meetings have been one-goal affairs.

St. Thomas was in control for much of the first half, as the visiting Bobcats outshot the Gyrenes 7-2. Junior goalkeeper Maddie Samuelson came up big for Ave Maria, stopping all four shots she had a play on. The Gyrenes had a scoring opportunity in the 18th minute, but a shot on goal from Sarah Dalton was turned away. The Bobcats gained the man advantage in the 42nd minute following an Ave Maria red card.

Ave Maria proved to be the more agressive team in the final 45 minutes, despite playing one man down. The Gyrenes took nine shots, while the Bobcats managed just six. St. Thomas goalkeeper Melanie Lefebvre saved all six of AMU's attempts on the net, while Samuelson notched four more saves in the second half, for a total of eight. With neither team scoring in the first 90 minutes, the game headed for golden goal overtime. 

Both teams challenged the goalkeeper twice in the first overtime period, but neither team could come up with the game-winner. The Ave Maria attempts came from Brenda Tubb and Emily Dalton, while shots from St. Thomas' Ira Sleiman and Andrea Manzur tied to end it for the Bobcats.

The only shot of the second overtime period was also the final shot of the match. Miranda Fernandez beat the AMU goalkeeper for a goal in the 105th minute, ending the game with just five minutes and change remaining on the clock. The goal was the second of the season for Fernandez.

Emily Dalton continued to be the leader of the Ave Maria attack, attempting five total shots and three shots on goal. Tubb and Chiara O'Keefe each added two shots on goal in the defeat. Samuelson had her best game as a Gyrene, logging 10 saves in more than 100 minutes of action.

After a solid start to the season for the Gyrenes, two massive tests await AMU next week. First, on Wednesday, the Gyrene women battle the defending national champions from Keiser. Kickoff in West Palm Beach is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Then, Ave Maria faces two-time national semifinalist Southeastern in prime time on Saturday, playing the Fire at 7:00 p.m.