AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's soccer team broke through for the first win of the season Saturday night, doing so in decisive fashion against the Falcons of Florida College at Gyrene Field. After five consecutive games without a goal, Ave Maria exploded for five goals in Saturday's contest, rolling to a 5-0 victory over the Falcons. The win was AMU's fourth straight in the series, a streak that dates back to the 2020 season.

After nearly 458 minutes of scoreless soccer, the first goal of the season came in the eighth minute of the contest. Rachel Dalton placed a pass behind the Florida College defense, and Brenda Tubb beat the Falcon goalkeeper to the far post for what proved to be the game-winning goal. Dalton then got on the board herself in the 23rd minute, drilling a shot from more than 27 yards out to extend the AMU lead to 2-0.

A third goal was added just before halftime, as another AMU sophomore added to the scoring. After a short pass from Lexi Boyko, Madelyn Krause unleashed a shot from 30 yards out. Krause's goal in the 45th minute gave Ave Maria a 3-0 lead heading into the halftime break. 

The lead got bigger less than ten minutes into the second half, when freshman Kaitlyn Ramos scored the first goal of her career. After a pass from Dalton, Ramos raced ahead of the Florida College defense for the fourth goal of the night. Rachel Morgan completed the scoring in the 88th minute, when the sophomore launched a free kick from almost 40 yards out that sailed over the outstretched arms of the goalkeeper.

Ave Maria had their most active game of the season offensively, launching 24 shots over 90 minutes. 14 of those shots tested Florida College's goalkeepers, with Ave Maria outshooting the Falcons by a 24-12 margin. The Gyrenes also performed well defensively, posting their third consecutive shutout. The Gyrene backline turned away five corner kick opportunities from the Falcons, and stopped all seven shots on goal.

Maddie Samuelson and Ariana Dale combined on a shutout for the Gyrenes in goal. Samuelson played the first 72 minutes, extending her streak without allowing a goal to 299 minutes. Dale made her 2022 debut in the closing moments of the match, playing the final 18 minutes. The junior made two saves to seal AMU's 5-0 win.

Saturday's match was the first of a five-game homestand for the Gyrenes that will encompass the rest of the month of September and go into October. The next match comes Wednesday afternoon, when the Gyrenes welcome the Conquistadors of Florida National University. AMU has won two consecutive games against Florida National, a streak that dates back to the 2020 season. Kickoff at Gyrene Field is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.