DALLAS — The Ave Maria Men's Soccer team opened their three-game road stand in the Lone Star State with a very impressive 8-1 win over the Texas College Steers. The Gyrenes got a huge contribution from two sophomores, Mateo Rolon and Sava Cadjenovic, who each recorded a hat trick. It is the third time in program history the Gyrenes have had two players score three or more goals in the same game.

Texas College opened the scoring in the third minute taking a 1-0 lead, but after that it was all Ave Maria.

Rolon scored the first goal for AMU just three minutes after the Steers' lone goal, connecting on a feed from Jael Parraga.

Just two minutes later, Cadjenovic scored his first goal, getting an assist from Rolon.

Cadjenovic got his second goal of the match in the 15^th minute, getting another assist from Rolon. The sophomore's second goal marked his first multi-goal game of his career, but he was due for more later in the match.

The two teams finally settled down after scoring a combined four goals in the first 15 minutes of the match. Levi Orlando netted the final strike of the half in the 40^th minute. It was the first goal of the season for Orlando and his first since October 24 when he found the back of the net against SCAD.

Ave Maria took a 4-1 lead into the break and were leading the Steers 10-6 in shots.

In the second half, it did not take long for the Gyrenes to get back to their scoring ways. Orlando struck for the second time in the 51^st minute, this time burying a feed from Daniel Bourgeois. Thursday was just the second multi-goal of Orlando's career and his first since August 25, 2023. It was also the first assist of the season for the sophomore transfer Bourgeois.

The score remained 5-1 for a good bit, but in the 74^th minute, Cadjenovic completed the hat trick connecting on a penalty kick. His three goals made it the second game in a row a Gyrene has recorded a hat trick after three years of not seeing one.

Not to be out done, Rolon, who recorded the first hat trick of the season on September 6 against Warner, got to work to try and catch his teammate. Rolon scored his second goal of the afternoon in the 84^th minute, receiving a feed from Cadjenovic.

Just 30 seconds later, Rolon found the back of the net again for the final goal of the match, this time assisted by Hayden Wysocki. It is the first time in Ave Maria history that a Gyrene has recorded hat tricks in back-to-back games and makes it the third time in program history two players have scored three or more goals. The last time that happened was when Kensley Jean Baptiste scored four goals and Kaveon Dux scored three goals against Trinity College August 18, 2018.

When the final whistle blew, the Gyrenes walked off the pitch with an 8-1 victory. Eight goals in a match are tied for the sixth-most in program history, and the most the Gyrenes have scored since September 10, 2022.

With the win, Ave Maria improves to 2-2-1 and has won two matches in a row.

The Gyrenes continue their trip in Texas Saturday when they take on the Paul Quinn Tigers. It will be the first ever meeting between the Gyrenes and Tigers on the pitch. Kickoff is set for noon eastern, 11 a.m. Central Time, and the game will be streamed live on Paul Quinn's YouTube channel.