MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Ave Maria Women's Soccer team earned their first point in the Sun Conference Standings Saturday evening as they played St. Thomas to a 1-1 draw. Both goals were scored in the second half as each goalie kept the scoresheet clean for the first 45 minutes.
St. Thomas logged three shots on goal in the first half, but all were turned away by keeper Emma Schweitzer. The senior from Lutz, Florida, logged a save in the ninth, 22
nd and 36
th minutes to keep a goose egg on the board.
On the other side of the pitch, Ave Maria only got one look at the net, with Claire Wrobleski firing off a shot in the 13
th minute. However, it was saved by the Bobcats' goalie.
Ave Maria finally opened the scoring just six minutes into the second half. In the 51
st minute, Julia Hyland drove down the field near the goal line and found a crashing Wrobleski right in front of the net. Hyland rolled the ball to the perfect spot where only Wrobleski could get it and not the defender draped over her, and the Montanan cashed in for the first goal of the match. It is the sixth goal of the season for Wrobleski and the 23
rd of her career. For Hyland, it is her second assist of the season.
The Gyrenes played with the lead for 14 minutes, in which time they took one more shot on goal from Lulu Gawley, but it was saved. St. Thomas registered two shots on goal during that time period, but Schweitzer was there to make the save.
In the 65
th minute, St. Thomas scored the equalizer on their seventh shot on goal of the match.
Ave Maria took control in the final 35 minutes, and they only allowed one more shot that went wide from the Bobcats for the rest of the match. The Gyrenes took three more shots on goal from Aviana Ferraez, Ava Conforti and Breanna McBride, but they were all saved.
AMU's final scoring chance came from Wrobleski in the 85
th minute, but her shot went wide and the match ended in a 1-1 tie.
Keeper Schweitzer finished the match with six saves, her highest total this season.
With the draw, Ave Maria's record moves to 3-3-3 overall and 0-1-1 in conference play. It does earn them a point in the standings as the Gyrenes move into a tie for sixth place with the Bobcats. Ave Maria has the slight advantage over St. Thomas in standings right now with just two games played to the Bobcats' three.
The Gyrenes are back home for their next match on Wednesday, October 7. Ave Maria will host the number one ranked team in the country in the Keiser Seahawks. The Gyrenes took on the Seahawks in a non-conference match in West Palm Beach in September. Keiser won that match 4-0 and now the Gyrenes look to exact a little payback on home turf. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and the match will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
