AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's soccer team ensured no worse than a .500 record in home games on Tuesday evening, using three second half goals to topple the Suns of Johnson University on their home pitch. Ave Maria is now 4-3 at Gyrene Field this season, with only one home match - Senior Day this Saturday - left in the regular season. 

Ave Maria struck early on Tuesday, scoring in just over 90 seconds. A long pass from Josh Gaeng and a touch from Nikola Vinksi eventually found the foot of Sebastian Foltz, who finished from close range to give AMU a 1-0 lead. The next Gyrene goal would come from 30 minutes, as Diego Heredia put one in the back of the net, with an assist credited to Cedric Georges.

In the span of a minute, Johnson tied the match just before the half. Miguel Silva scored the first goal for the Suns, and Daniel Mello followed just seconds later. Juan Pablo Calderon was credited with the assist on both goals, and the Suns went into halftime even with Ave Maria, despite the Gyrenes holding a two-to-one edge in shots attempted (ten for Ave Maria, five for Johnson). 

Early in the second half, Ave Maria took the lead for good. Josh Gaeng scored in the 48th minute, putting one in the back of the net for the third match in a row. Heredia beat essentially the entire Johnson defense for a goal in the 52nd minute to give AMU some insurance, and Foltz scored on an assist from Georges in the closing moments of the match to conclude the scoring. 

AMU controlled much of the action on Tuesday night, outshooting the Suns by a 21-9 margin. The Gyrenes were relatively efficient in their shots, with 12 of their 21 shots going on goal. Diego Heredia was Ave Maria's most active attacker, posting five shots and three shots on goal in the midst of his five point performance. Rhys Lawlor earned the win in goal for Ave Maria, making three saves.

After the non-conference affair on Tuesday night, Ave Maria gets ready for a massive Sun Conference battle against the Southeastern University Fire on Saturday afternoon. The Gyrenes remain in the hunt for a conference tournament berth, and will likely need at least one win in the final two matches in league play to qualify. The match between AMU and Southeastern, which will also serve as the Gyrenes' Senior Day, is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. start.