MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Ave Maria Men's soccer team played a hard fought match against the Florida Memorial Lions Saturday evening but unfortunately came up short as the Gyrenes fell 2-1.
In the first half, Ave Maria had pressure put on them early. Florida Memorial had several shots early, but none would find the back of the net. Goalkeeper Andrija Vujakovic recorded a save in the 13
th minute. However, the Gyrene defense let the Lions slip behind them and Florida Memorial broke the tie in the 22
nd minute, putting the game at 1-0.
Ave Maria's offense struck back fast, with shots coming from Sava Cadjenovic and Nikolas Briceno coming in the 24
th and 25
th minute. Finally, Cadjenovic was able to find the back of the net and tie the game up 1-1 in the 30
th minute. The Gyrene defense held strong for the remainder of the first half, only allowing one more shot as the teams were tied 1-1 going into the break.
The second half started with a lightning delay, but that didn't bother the Gyrene defense. Vujakovic recorded another save in the 52
nd minute and the defense was able to stop several other shots. Andre Betioli logged a shot on goal in the 61
st minute, but his attempt was blocked. Another shot came from Jose Jacquet in the 68
th minute, but it went high.
In the 70
th minute, The Lions offense got behind the Gyrenes scored the eventual winning goal.
Ave Maria had several looks at the net in the waning minutes, with shots coming from Emilio Fimbres in the 70
th minute and Jacquet in the 75
th minute, but none of them found nylon. In the 84
th minute, Fabio Marotti logged the final shot on goal for the Gyrenes, but the Lions goalkeeper kept the ball out of the goal. Time ran out before the Gyrenes could log one more attempt at an equalizer.
With the loss, Ave Maria falls to 6-9-1 and remain without a conference win at 0-5-1. Despite the loss, the Gyrenes postseason hopes are still alive. With just two matches remaining, Ave Maria needs to win out and hope the New College of Florida Mighty Banyans do not win any more games.
The first of the two must-win matches is Wednesday, October 21, against the Webber Warriors. Webber is in a similar boat as the Gyrenes, with just one point in the Sun Conference standings and looking to keep the season alive. Ave Maria will also be celebrating their seniors for senior day as it is the home finale of the regular season. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and the match will be streamed live on the SUN Digital Network.
