AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria Men's Soccer team fell to the Florida National Conquistadors 4-1 Monday night. The Gyrenes seemed to have snatched the momentum right before halftime when they scored their goal, but three strikes in the second half from FNU put the game out of reach.

Florida National applied pressure early in the game and were rewarded for it with first goal of the match, opening the scoring in the 29^th minute.

FNU kept the pressure up but relaxed in the final five minutes of the half, before the break. That is when the Gyrenes struck. Ave Maria, with only one shot in the game so far, forced the ball in deep on the FNU side. After settling down a ball that had been popped up, Brandon Gomez fired a shot from the top of the box that caught the Conquistadors' goalkeeper by surprise, tipped off the goalie's glove and into the back of the net for the equalizer. It was the sophomore's first goal of his career and tied the game with 22 seconds left to play in the first frame.

Going into the break, Ave Maria may have been outshot 12-2, but the score was even at 1-1.

Coming out of halftime, the Gyrenes tried to capitalize on the momentum, but just could not find their footing against the Conquistadors. Florida National retook the lead in the 52^nd minute with their second goal of the night. They extended their lead with an insurance goal just 79 seconds later, making it 3-1.

With a little over 15 minutes left to play, the game entered a lightning delay for 42 minutes.

Out of the delay, the Gyrenes tried to capture the momentum of the game and see if they could sneak two late goals pass the keeper. Unfortunately, it was Florida National who scored the goal in the final minutes of the game, taking a 4-1 lead.

With the loss, Ave Maria falls to 0-2-1 to start the season. As a team, the Gyrenes were outshot 21-5.

Despite letting in three goals, keeper Andrija Vujakovic made a season-high eight saves.

The Gyrenes are back home one final to close out a season-opening four-game homestand. Ave Maria is back on the pitch Saturday, September 6, as they play host to the Warner Royals. It will be a non-conference game for both teams with the league game taking place in Lake Wales on October 11. The match is part of a tripleheader on the Ave Maria campus that Saturday, with Women's Soccer and Football also in action that day. Kickoff for the Men's Soccer game is set for 1:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the Urban Edge Network.