AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria Men's Soccer team won their third game of the season Thursday evening, defeating the Pensacola Christian Eagles 2-0. It is the first home opener win for the Gyrenes since 2022.
Ave Maria and Pensacola Christian were in a strict defensive match throughout the first half. With a total of ten saves made by both teams, four of which were made by the Gyrenes' own Andrija Vujakovic.
The second half was when Ave Maria broke the tie. Freshmen Fabio Marotti bounced the ball off his head acrobatically into the back of the net in the 67
th minute to put the Gyrenes up 1-0. Marotti received a great pass from senior Andre Betioli, who was awarded his first assist of the season and the sixth of his career. Head coach Dario Collazo mentioned the tremendous pass from Betioli and the great speed from Mariotti that led to the goal.
"Fabio with his speed just went for it and he scored a great goal," said Collazo.
The Gyrenes added to their lead just a few minutes later when junior Mateo Rolon scored his first goal of the season in the 74
th minute.
Ave Maria's defense would hold strong for the remainder of the match, not allowing the Eagles to attempt another shot for the remainder of the match.
Vujakovic finished the match with five saves and his second shutout of the season. The junior keeper now has seven career clean sheets, Â continuing to grow his program record.
With the win, Ave Maria improves to 3-1 on the young season.
The Gyrenes look to continue their momentum against the South Florida Bible College Rams. This will be the second straight match at home for Ave Maria. The match is set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 1, at Gyrene Field. The game will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
