AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria Men's Soccer team had the lead twice against the SCAD Bees Thursday night. However, costly mistakes led to two SCAD penalty shots as the Gyrenes fell to the Bees 3-2.
SCAD dominated the first 20 minutes of play, outshooting Ave Maria 7-1. Two of their seven shots were directed at the goal, but keeper Andrija Vujakovic was there to make the stop.
Ave Maria broke the tie in the 29
th minute. On a fast break, Brandon Gomez left the ball in the perfect spot for Sava Cadjenovic. The junior dribbled through two defenders, then fired a shot that swished right into the corner of the net for the first goal of the match.
It is the fifth goal of the season for Cadjenovic and the 23
rd of his career, putting him past Josh Gaeng (2020-22) for the second-most career goals in program history. For Gomez, it was his first assist of the season and the second of his career.
The lead did not last long as SCAD netted the equalizer in the 34
th minute. An errant kick to the shin in the penalty area led to a penalty shot for the Bees, which senior Tim Rothe did not miss.
Ave Maria quickly recaptured the lead just 86 seconds later. From the top corner of the penalty area, Gomez fired a laser that flew past the outstretched arms of the SCAD keeper, giving the Gyrenes a 2-1 lead. For Gomez, it was his second goal of the season and third of his career.
The Gyrene offense remained in possession of the ball for the final 10 minutes of the half and took a 2-1 lead into the break.
Unfortunately, the Gyrenes could not recapture their momentum in the second half.
SCAD netted their second equalizer of the game in the 54
th minute, again off a penalty kick. It was yet another rough takedown in the penalty area that led to the shot, which Rothe fired into the back of the net.
Thursday night was the first match since exactly one year prior that the Gyrenes had allowed multiple penalty shot attempts, also against the SCAD Bees. In both matches, the Bees converted both penalty kicks which ended up being the difference maker.
Now tied at two, the two squads continued to trade possessions, with SCAD possessing the ball a little bit more.
The Bees grabbed their first lead of the match in the 74
th minute as through ball set up Lucas Braganca all alone in front of the goal and he pushed one past Vujakovic.
The Gyrenes registered two more shots on goal in the final 15 minutes, one from Cadjenovic and one from Mateo Rolon, but both were turned away. AMU was on one final rush when the clock hit triple zeroes, and the ref blew the final whistle.
With the loss, Ave Maria falls to 6-8-1 overall and 0-4-1 in Sun Conference play. The Gyrenes remain with just one point in the Sun Conference standings, tied with Webber. Ave Maria is not out of the Sun Conference Tournament yet, but with just three matches remaining and the Gyrenes six points behind the sixth place New College of Florida Mighty Banyans, the room for error is slim.
It is a quick turnaround for the Gyrenes as they are back on the pitch Saturday, October 17, against the Florida Memorial Lions. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from Miami Gardens and the match will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
