HARDEEVILLE, S.C.- The Ave Maria University men's soccer team saw their season come to an end on Saturday afternoon, as the Gyrenes fell 6-0 to the Bees of SCAD-Savannah at the SCAD Athletics Complex. The match was essentially a play-in game to The Sun Conference Tournament, as SCAD will be the fifth seed and play fourth-seeded Southeastern in the quarterfinal round. 

Ave Maria found themselves in an early hole, as SCAD scored three times in the first 16 minutes. Ty Bennett found the back of the net on an assist from Jayden Corbridge. Bennett then assisted on the Bees' second goal, which was scored by Phillip Holtgen in the eleventh minute. Matteo Tizzano concluded SCAD's first half scoring in the 16th minute, scoring his fourth goal of the season on an assist from Connor Friel. 

SCAD's scoring continued in the second half, as the Bees added three more goals in the final 45 minutes. Bennett scored for the second time in the 54th minute, with the assist provided by Lewis Gamble. Jesus Ulloa got on the scoresheet in the 68th minute on an assist from Caio Lara, who finished the scoring just over ten minutes later in the 78th minute.

The Bees logged 25 shots on Saturday, while the Gyrenes managed just ten. SCAD also held a 13-5 edge in shots on goal. Nikola Vinski and Josh Gaeng, Ave Maria's two offensive leaders in the 2021 season, combined for seven of the Gyrenes' ten shots, with Gaeng taking four and Vinski taking three. Andre Blanco, Cade Williams, and Tomas Licheri also attempted shots in the losing effort.

The Gyrenes finish the 2021 season with five wins, the most by the program since the 2018 season. That record included a .500 mark of 4-4 at Gyrene Field, which featured conference wins over Thomas and Webber. Ave Maria also did enough to be playing for a postseason berth in the final match of the season, keeping every match with postseason relevance through the season.