AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria Gyrenes scored their first goal in conference play, but it wasn't enough as the SCAD Bees went on to win 2-1.

The first half was very even between the two teams with the Gyrenes controlling the momentum for a majority of the period. AMU outshot the Bees 7-5, with four of those shots being on goal. That is the most shots on goal the Gyrenes have had in half against a Sun Conference opponent. Unfortunately, SCAD goalie Connor Friel was able to stop all four shots from the Gyrenes.

On the defensive side, goaltender Rhys Lawlor stopped both shots he faced from the Bees' forwards and both sides went into halftime tied at zero.

In the second half, the Bees took control of the game and slammed home the first goal of the game off a header from Ryan Holmes in the 54th minute. The goal seemed to suck the air out of the fans at Gyrene Field who were very lively in the first half feeding off the good play of the Gyrenes.

About 10 minutes later, Ave Maria finally scored their first goal against a Sun opponent and their first goal in 387 minutes. Following a save from Friel that went out of bounds, Cade Williams launched a cross from the right corner and though the initial shot attempt bounced off a few shins, Levi Orlando, a sophomore from Gulf Breeze, Florida, banged in the rebound and tied the game up at 1. The goal was Orlando's third of the year and of his career and ended a substantial scoring drought for the Gyrenes.

Unfortunately, the tie did not last long as just six minutes later, Giovanny Lares found the back of the net for the Bees and SCAD went back up on top 2-1.

The Bees dropped back in defense and protected their one goal lead for the final 20 minutes of the game and kept Ave Maria from getting a shot on goal.

Tempers started to flare in the final minutes as five yellow cards were handed out, three to Ave Maria and two to SCAD.

When the final horn sounded, the Bees walked off the pitch with a 2-1 win.

Following the loss, the Gyrenes fall to 0-7-1 and 0-4 in conference play. Ave Maria is on the road for their next two matches, travelling out to West Palm Beach Wednesday, September 27, to take on the #17 Keiser Seahawks, and then up to Lake Wales Saturday, September 30, to take on the Warner Royals.