TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. — The Ave Maria Men's Soccer team picked up their second win of the season Tuesday afternoon as they defeated the Florida College Falcons 2-1. The Gyrenes got a late goal from freshman Fabio Marotti to pull ahead of the Falcons.
It was a fast start for Ave Maria as they applied pressure early and were rewarded with a goal. In just the sixth minute of the match, Sava Cadjenovic buried a feed from Hayden Wysocki to put the Gyrenes up 1-0. It is the first goal of the season for Cadjenovic and his 19
th career goal. For Wysocki, it was his first assist of the young season and the fifth of his career.
The Falcons scored the equalizer in the 40
th minute, converting on one of their three shots in the first half. In comparison, Ave Maria had a total of sixteen shots in the first half.
The Gyrene defense came up strong for the rest of the game. Ave Maria only allowed five shots in the second half, four of them being saved by goalkeeper Andrija Vujakovic.
The Gyrenes kept the shots coming as they tallied 10 shots in the second half, five of which were on goal. Ave Maria finally broke the tie in the 75
th minute. Freshman Marotti found nylon with his shot and put the Gyrenes ahead with just 15 minutes left to play.
Ave Maria held firm for the remainder of the match as the Falcons did not register another shot. When the final whistle blew, the Gyrenes walked off the pitch with their first win against Florida College since 2022.
With the win, the Gyrenes improved to 2-1 on the season.
After three games on the road, Ave Maria is finally back home as they gear up to play Pensacola Christian in their home opener. This will be the second time the two programs have met on the pitch, with the Gyrenes winning the first matchup in 2025. Following the loss to the Gyrenes, Pensacola Christian won eight of their last 15 matches and won the NCCAA DII National Championship.
The match is set for Thursday, August 27, with kickoff at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
