AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria Men's Soccer team netted an early goal against the Warner Royals Saturday afternoon and then tried to hang on to the narrow lead. Unfortunately, Warner scored a late goal to the end the match in a 1-1 tie.
The Gyrenes started the match off strong, with the offense having several chances at the net. Sava Cadjenovic and Andre Betioli each logged a shot on goal in the early minutes of the match, but both were turned aside. Hayden Wysocki and Mateo Rolon also logged shots that went wide.
The tie was finally broken in the 12
th minute as Betioli made a great pass to Cadjenovic right in front of the net. The junior buried the shot into the back of the net for the match's first goal. It was Cadjenovic's fourth goal of the season, bringing his career total up to 22 and tying Josh Gaeng for the second-most goals in school history. For Betioli, it was his first assist of the season.
Keeper Andrija Vujakovic made three saves in the opening 45 minutes to keep the score 1-0, an advantage the Gyrenes took into the break.
In the second half, the Gyrene offense was able to put some pressure on the Royal defense but could not put the ball in the net. Several Ave Maria players had shots on goal, but Warner keeper Mikey Melvin was there with the save.
In the 85
th minute, a late foul from the Gyrenes gave Warner a chance and the Royals cashed in on it. From the 15-yard line of the football field, Warner's Jackson Davenport arced a ball right into the corner of the net to tie the game at one.
Ave Maria took two more shots on goal in the final five minutes, but Melvin was there both times to keep the game knotted up when the final whistle blew.
With the tie, Ave Maria's record moves to 6-7-1 overall and 0-3-1 in conference play. The Gyrenes earn their first point in the Sun Conference standings but are still three points outside of the sixth place team, which is the final team to earn a bid to the Sun Conference Tournament.
The Gyrenes are back home for their next match as they host the SCAD Bees Wednesday evening. The Bees did not play Saturday and are 2-0-1 in conference play. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and the match will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
