HIALEAH, Fla. — Despite playing #21 Florida National well Saturday and scoring the most goals against the Conquistadors in program history, the Ave Maria University men's soccer team lost 4-2.
The first 15 minutes of the game were quiet for both teams, but the Conquistadors were the first to get on the board, cashing in on a goal from Nicholas Martinez in the 19th minute.
Ave Maria wouldn't trail for long though as just 12 minutes later, Luis Mendoza, a sophomore from Fuengirola, Spain, assisted by Cade Williams, scored his first goal of the season, and evened the game up at one.
In the final 15 minutes of the first half, tensions started to flare on the pitch and Gyrenes were unfortunately on the wrong side of that, getting two yellow cards in the span of three minutes. Added to a yellow card assessed to AMU earlier in the game and that made for three yellow cards waved in front of the Gyrenes in the first half.
Going into the break, Florida National outshot Ave Maria 14-3 in the first half yet the score remained tied 1-1.
Like the first half, the first 15 minutes of the second half saw both teams feeling each other out and just a couple of shots from Florida National.
In the 60th minute, the Conquistadors retook the lead with Marcos Blake finding the back of the net following a FNU corner kick.
15 minutes later, Florida National took a two-goal lead, this time off the boot of Ricardo Delwing.
However, the Gyrenes did not allow the Conquistadors a lot of time to celebrate. Just 58 seconds later, Edwin Parraga, a sophomore from Manta, Ecuador, slammed home a penalty kick following a FNU foul, and brought the Gyrenes back within one.
The Gyrenes continued to pour on pressure to try and tie the game at three, but Florida National's goalie, Vitor Caetano Pedros, was up to the task and made two big saves.
In the 87th minute, the Conquistadors iced the game making it 4-2 with less than three minutes left to play.
The Gyrenes added two more yellow cards to their total, giving them five for the game, which is the most since October 15, 2022, when Ave Maria was assessed seven yellow cards against Warner.
With the loss, the Gyrenes fall to 0-3 and will have to wait a few more days for their first win of the 2023 season. Ave Maria's next game is their home opener against the Johnson Suns, Saturday, September 9. Ave Maria is 3-0 against the Suns in program history with the most recent match being a 4-1 win last season. The game is set to start at 7 pm, as part of a soccer double header with the Women's team taking on the Thomas Night Hawks at noon. Both games will be broadcast on the Sun Digital Network.
