LAKE WALES, Fla. — The Ave Maria women's soccer team rolled over the Warner Royals Wednesday night, winning 3-1. It was a pair of newcomers, freshman Claire Wrobleski and graduate transfer Kana Mateaki, who scored the goals for Ave Maria, continuing their great first season on campus.
Warner actually opened the scoring, getting their lone goal in the early stages of the match. Just a little over five minutes in, the Royals took a 1-0 lead on busted play that led to a one-on-one match up.
That, however, would be their only shot in the first half as Ave Maria took control of the game. The Gyrenes fired off eight shots, four of them on goal, in the opening frame, but still the score remained 1-0.
In the second half, the Gyrenes effort finally paid off as they found the back of the net. Wrobleski scored the game tying goal, getting behind the defense and setting up a one-on-one of her own with the Warner goalie. For Wrobleski, its her seventh goal of the season, which is already tied for the seventh-most goals in a season in program history.
Just a little over two minutes later, Mateaki got her first of the night to put the Gyrenes up 2-1. Mateaki swiped the ball away on a steal and then fired from just inside the penalty area.
Mateaki wasn't done scoring though. In the 63rd minute, the graduate transfer notched her second goal of the game after hopping a defender in the middle of the field that led to a breakaway.
The two goals brought her season total up to four and her collegiate career total up to 23.
On the defensive side, sophomore goalkeeper Emma Schweitzer made two big saves in the second half to keep the Gyrenes in front. One was off a free kick and the second was off a redirected corner.
As a team, the Gyrenes outshot the Royals 14-5 with eight shots on goal to Warner's three. The Gyrenes also played a relatively clean game with only one card to Warner's three.
"I am very proud of the calm way the ladies responded to going down early," said head coach Tyler Rosser after the game. "It was a fun night, and we are grateful to get a good result against a Sun Conference opponent."
With the win, Ave Maria improves to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play.
The Gyrenes are home for their next game, taking on the New College of Florida Mighty Bayans. It will be the first ever meeting on the pitch between the Gyrenes and the Mighty Banyans, who joined the Sun Conference in July. In their inaugural season in the Sun Conference, New College is 0-1, having lost to Keiser. The Mighty Banyans play SCAD Thursday before taking on the Gyrenes Saturday. The game can be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
