BILLINGS, Mont. — Ave Maria ended their Montana road trip on a sour note, falling to the Rocky Mountain Battlin' Bears 3-0. Despite going 0-2 on the trip, the Gyrenes enjoyed visiting Montana, the farthest the team has ever travelled in program history, blowing past the previous record of a trip to Mobile, Alabama, back in 2013.

Ian Wall got the start in goal for Ave Maria, just the super senior's third start as a Gyrene. Despite allowing three goals in the first half, Wall did make four saves in his 2023 debut.

Rhys Lawlor subbed in for him in the second half and saved all three shots he faced to keep Rocky Mountain held at three.

On the offensive side, the Gyrenes managed seven shots with only two of them on goal coming from freshmen Andre Betioli and Abraham Magallanes in the second half. Aside from those two shots on goal, the Battlin' Bear defense was shut down on the Gyrenes snuffing out plays and forcing shots to go wide of the net.

With the loss, Ave Maria falls to 0-2 on the season. Their next matchup is Saturday, September 2, on the road against nationally ranked Florida National. The Conquistadors, who are ranked 21st in the country in the NAIA Preseason Poll, are 2-1, having beaten Ave Maria's fellow Sun Conference rivals Florida Memorial and Warner and losing to St. Thomas, another Sun Conference team. The Gyrenes will be the fifth and final Sun team FNU plays this season with the Conquistadors suiting up against the Webber Warriors Thursday before Ave Maria's Saturday game with them.

The Gyrenes are winless against the Conquistadors and specifically 0-2 in Hialeah. Ave Maria hopes to change all that by getting a statement win against a ranked team on the road.