AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's soccer team took the nation's 15th ranked team, the Southeastern University Fire, to the limit Wednesday night at Gyrene Field, playing an even match for nearly 90 minutes before a goal in the final minute gave a 1-0 victory to the Fire. The action did not get going until 8:40 Wednesday, as lightning in the area of the stadium kept the teams off the field for more than an hour and a half.
The first half was evenly matched, as the host Gyrenes did not back down from the nationally-ranked Fire. Ave Maria had several chances to take an early lead, as did the Fire, but neither team could find the back of the net. Southeastern took nine shots in the opening 45 minutes, while the Gyrenes countered with eight. The shots on goal count was about even as well, with four attempts on the net for SEU and three for AMU.
Southeastern nearly took the lead in the 51st minute, but the Fire's best chance of the evening to that point clanged off the right post. The Gyrenes had a similar chance in the 71st minute, but a header off a free kick from senior Haley Iacona deflected off the crossbar. The game looked to be headed for a scoreless draw before Southeastern's Naira Lopez fired in a rocket of a goal with just 14 seconds remaining on the clock.
In just her fourth career start, Emma Schweitzer was spectacular despite the late goal, making five saves against a potent Southeastern attack. Southeastern picked up the intensity offensively in the second half, outshooting the Gyrenes 14-6 to account for an 23-14 edge in shots attempted. Ave Maria's most active attacker was Rachel Dalton, who accounted for four total shots, while Catherine Dalton and Veronica Rodriguez both added three.
Wednesday's match marked the beginning of Sun Conference play, which will see the Gyrenes play on every Wednesday and Saturday for the next seven week. AMU's second SUN match will be their first road contest, coming Saturday in Miami Gardens against Florida Memorial. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. between the Gyrenes and the Lions, who fell 3-0 to Webber in their Sun Conference opener.
