MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — For just the second time in program history, the Ave Maria Women's Soccer team is moving on to the Sun Conference Semifinals. The Gyrenes earned their spot in the final four by taking down the No. 4 seed St. Thomas Bobcats 2-1.

Ave Maria opened the scoring early in the first half. In the 13^th minute of the game, Anna Bohli put forward a through ball for Rachel Dalton. Two Bobcat defenders converged on the All-Conference midfielder and the keeper came out of the box to meet her as well. With heavy pressure around her, Dalton got a bouncing shot past the goalie. The ball was leaning towards the right post, but luckily bounced in to goal for the first score of the game.

For Dalton, it's her fourth goal of the season and the 21^st of her career, passing Alexia Mazzoccone for the second-most career goals at Ave Maria.

After falling behind, St. Thomas turned on the pressure against the Gyrenes. The Bobcats outshot the Gyrenes 7-3 in the first half and were rewarded with a goal in the 30^th minute to tie it up.

Heading into the break, both teams were knotted at one goal apiece.

The second half was much more even, with both teams registering four shots.

The difference maker came in the 60^th minute for the Gyrenes. After a collision popped the ball high in the air, Claire Wrobleski bounced the ball off the back of her head and it settled right at the feet of Kana Mateaki 20 yards away from the goal. The other All-Conference selection for the Gyrenes dribbled the ball five yards in before taking a shot that five-holed the St. Thomas goalie and rolled to the back of the net to put the Gyrenes up 2-1.

For Mateaki, it's her sixth goal season and the 25^th goal of her NAIA career.

With 30 minutes remaining, the Gyrenes played stout defense to protect their lead. St. Thomas only managed one shot that was blocked in the final half hour of the game. With less than a minute left, St. Thomas tried one more cross to the box to try and tie the game again, but goaltender Emma Schweitzer leaped up and grabbed the ball ending the Bobcats' chance.

When the final whistle sounded, Ave Maria rushed the field and into the Sun Conference Semifinals.

"I am so grateful for each of these women," said head Coach Tyler Rosser after the game. "We learned a lot from our last match against St. Thomas and the ladies applied those lessons with excellence tonight."

Ave Maria is now 1-1-1 against the Bobcats this season, with the win coming in the biggest game of the season.

On the season, the Gyrenes are 7-4-4. It is the second ever postseason win for the program, with the first coming back in 2020 with a 3-1 win over the Warner Royals in the Sun Conference Quarterfinals. Only one Gyrene bridges the two teams, with Lauren Brooks getting minutes in both games.

The Gyrenes now turn their sights to the SCAD Bees in the Sun Conference Semifinals. SCAD tied Keiser for a share of the regular season title with a conference record of 7-0-1. However, the Bees got the nod as the number one seed in the tournament by beating St. Thomas by four goals while Keiser beat Bobcats by just one.

"The extra postseason time with this group of women is an absolute gift," said Rosser. "We are happy for the win, of course, but also so grateful we get this extra time together. We are really looking forward to our trip to Savannah."

The semifinal is Monday, November 11. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and the match will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.