THOMASVILLE, Ga. — The Ave Maria Men's Soccer team traveled up to Thomasville, Georgia, Monday afternoon as they went up against the Thomas Night Hawks. It was the 11
th all-time meeting on the pitch between the two programs, but the first since 2022 when Thomas left the Sun Conference for the Southern States Athletic Conference. A couple key mistakes led to the Gyrenes' downfall Monday afternoon as they fell 4-2.
The Gyrenes scored opened the scoring within seconds of the match kicking off. Daniel Bourgeois took the shot and nailed it, scoring with just 11 seconds off the clock. Bourgeois' first goal of the season came from an assist from Sava Cadjenovic. That assist would go down as Cadjenovic's third of the season.
The party did not last long as the Night Hawks answered in the 12
th minute, tying the match 1-1.
The remainder of the first half was filled with defense, as both the Gyrenes and the Night Hawks had seven shots in the first half. In the 38
th minute, the Night Hawks broke the tie and took a 2-1 lead into the break.
Ave Maria found nylon early in the second half, as Fabio Mariotti scored his third goal of the season to tie the match. The breakout freshman buried a feed from Landon Gomez who got his first assist of the season.
The Gyrenes would quickly get another shot from Landon's brother Brandon Gomez in the 51
st minute, but it would not find the net.
The tie was broken in the 57
th minute, as a mishap from the Gyrenes led to a goal for Thomas. The unfortunate own goal ended up being the game winner for the Night Hawks.
The Gyrenes had a chance to tie, with a strike off the leg of Bourgeois, but it was saved by the Thomas goalkeeper. The Gyrenes had several more chances with shots coming from Mateo Rolon in the 65
th minute and two more shots from Cadjenovic and Rolon in the 69
th minute, but all were either saved or missed the net.
The last goal of the match came from the Night Hawks at the 79
th minute, sealing the match for Thomas.
With the loss on Monday, the Gyrenes fall to 5-2 on the season, bringing their four-game winning streak to an end.
Ave Maria's next match is back at home on Saturday, September 12
th as the Gyrenes look to defend their pitch against the Florida Poly Phoenix. This is the first season of competition for the Phoenix who look to join the Sun Conference in the future. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. and the match will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
