AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's soccer team stood toe-to-toe with the (RV) Southeastern University Fire on Saturday afternoon, but a man disadvantage was eventually too much to overcome in a 3-2 loss to the Fire at Gyrene Field. At halftime of the contest, the men's soccer program honored the seven senior members of the team in their last home match in Ave Maria.

Southeastern got on the board less than six minutes into the game, as Julian Hall found the back of the net. Ben-Avir played a long through ball, and Hall outraced the Gyrene defense and beat the goalkeeper from inside the box. The goal was Hall's tenth of the season, and gave the Fire a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute.

Ave Maria tied the match just moments later, finding an equalizer in the tenth minute. Freshman Diego Heredia controlled a loose ball, played his dribble off the outside foot of the defender, then buried his shot from around ten yards out. Heredia's goal marked his third tally of the season, and essentially restarted the match even at one. 

The barrage of scoring in the first half continued in the 13th minute, as Southeastern retook the lead. Eduardo Venutolo took advantage of a brief AMU defensive miscue, and dribbled past the Gyrene goalkeeper for a goal from point blank range. That was the final goal of the first half, with Southeastern taking a 2-1 lead into the break. 

It took Ave Maria less than a minute in the second half to once again tie the match. In the 46th minute, Cade Williams lofted a perfect cross into the box, and Josh Gaeng skied over two Southeastern defenders to float a header into the back of the net for his seventh goal of the season. 

Playing one man up due to an Ave Maria red card in the 53rd minute, Southeastern scored the game-winner in the 75th minute. Ben-Avir Espinal had an initial chance saved by Rhys Lawlor, but the rebound fell to the foot of Vittorio Sasso, who finished for SEU's third goal. Neither team would find the net in the final 15 minutes, leaving the final score at 3-2.

SEU was on the attack more often on Saturday, outshooting Ave Maria by a 22-12 margin. Southeastern also held a 12-5 lead in shots on goal, and Ave Maria goalkeeper Rhys Lawlor had to make nine saves to keep the Gyrenes in the match. Offensively, the Gyrene leader in shots was Gaeng, who had four shots attempts, although his only shot on goal was his goal in the 46th minute.

The entirety of Ave Maria's season comes down to next Saturday, when the Gyrenes take on the Bees of SCAD-Savannah in Hardeeville, South Carolina. With a win, the Gyrenes would earn their way into The Sun Conference Tournament for the second season in a row. Kickoff in that match, the last of the regular season, is scheduled for noon.