LAKE WALES, Fla. — The Ave Maria men's soccer team secured their first win of the season and first win under new head coach Cesar Markovic Saturday by beating the Warner Royals 3-1. Saturday was also the first win over the Royals in program history.
After a lengthy rain delay that pushed the game back a few hours, Ave Maria came out of the gate swinging with Padraic Pierson sending a shot high of the goal at 57 second mark. Though it did not go down as a shot on goal, it showed the Gyrenes were there to fight and determined to win.
Play continued for 17 minutes without a shot from either team before AMU broke the silence with a shot on goal that was saved by the Warner goalie. The ball stayed in the offensive zone though and just a minute later, Jerron Dopwell found the back of the net for the first goal of the game. It was also the junior's first goal of the season and the first time since the Gyrenes scored the first goal of the game since their September 9 tie with the Johnson Suns.
The two teams played evenly for the next 20 minutes, and Ave Maria went into the half with a 1-0 lead. In the first half, the Gyrenes outshot the Royals 5-4 with two shots on goal for AMU and only one shot on goal for Warner.
In the opening minutes of the second half, Warner seized the momentum recording five shots with two on goal in the opening 18 minutes. Both shots on goal were saved by goalie Rhys Lawlor, keeping the score at 1-0.
Unfortunately, the seizure of the momentum finally paid off in the 63rd minute when Warner got a ball past Lawlor for the first time and tied the game at one.
The Gyrenes did not let the goal affect them though. Just 56 seconds later, Ave Maria got down the field, drew a yellow card, and then Dopwell buried a free kick from Cade Williams on a header shot to retake the lead 2-1.
AMU would add an insurance goal eight minutes later with Padraic Pierson finding the back of the net assisted by Andre Betoli. This goal also started from a free kick off a yellow card that Warner goalie Jaime Jimenez did not play cleanly, allowing Betoli to collect the rebound and find Pierson who popped it in to make it 3-1.
In the final ten minutes, Warner threw all they had at Ave Maria, registering five shots, one of which was on goal and saved by Lawlor an another that was a header shot that hit the crossbar.
The Ave defense was up to the challenge and stopped everything they faced. When the clock hit zero, Ave Maria found themselves with their first win of the season.
With the win, AMU improves to 1-8-1 and 1-5 in conference play with three points. The win also has the Gyrenes leapfrog the Royals in the Sun Standings moving from last to seventh place and just one point behind Webber in sixth.
The Gyrenes are home for their next two games with the first of which being Wednesday, October 4 when they host the #3 St. Thomas Bobcats. That will conclude their first pass through the Sun Conference, having played every conference rival once. AMU will then play everyone again starting with the Southeastern Fire Saturday, October 7. Both games will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
