AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria University women's soccer team struck first but could not hold off a relentless Southeastern University attack, falling 3–1 this afternoon at Gyrene Field.

The Gyrenes (3–4–1) opened the scoring in the 10th minute when Claire Wrobleski buried a shot for her team-leading sixth goal of the season.

The early strike energized the home crowd, but the Fire responded quickly.

Southeastern's Ariadna Lozano equalized less than three minutes later, followed by a go-ahead goal from Grace Banker in the 14th minute.

Before halftime, the Fire extended their advantage to 3–1 when Olivia Hadad, assisted by Madelyn Davidson, found the back of the net in the 42nd minute.

Despite trailing, Ave Maria kept pressing. The Gyrenes generated 10 shots, five of which were on frame, but Southeastern's defense and goalkeeping duo of Sofia Diaz and Madison Songer combined for four saves to preserve the lead.

On the other end, Gyrene goalkeeper Avalena DeBolt faced a barrage of chances, recording an impressive 12 saves against 27 shots. Her second-half performance, which included 10 saves after the break, kept Ave Maria within striking distance even as Southeastern maintained heavy pressure.

The Gyrenes managed several promising looks in the second half, including shots from Catherine Dalton and substitute Sophia Egger, but couldn't break through.

With the loss, Ave Maria moves to 3–4–1 overall. The Gyrenes will look to bounce back in their next outing at Florida National next week on Tuesday, with kickoff set for 12:30pm. After that, they face the Fire again on October 1st, this time on Southeastern's home turf, to begin conference play. All games can be streamed live on Urban Edge Network.