AVE MARIA, Fla. – Florida Memorial University's men's soccer team notched its first goal of the 2020 season but it was sandwiched in between a pair of quick scoring bursts by host Ave Maria University, as the Lions fell 5-1 to the Gyrenes Saturday afternoon.
 
The Lions (0-2, 0-1 Sun Conference) got on the board thanks to a Delroy Anderson goal in the 23rd minute. The freshman took a pass from Tarjay Russell as he sprinted into the box, Anderson controlled the ball and was able to put a hard kick into the back right corner of the net.
 
Anderson's goal cut the Lions, who will travel to Sun Conference rival St. Thomas University this coming Wednesday (Sept. 23), deficit to 2-1. Ave Maria (2-0, 1-0) put its first two goals on the board within the first four minutes of the match, leaving FMU to play a bit of "desperation soccer" much earlier than it would've wanted.
 
It also didn't help Florida Memorial that starting – and only available positional goalkeeper – Kenan Ainge left the game in the eighth minute. Lions head coach Connor Campbell elected to pull Lautaro Blasco from his position as a defender and put him in the net in Ainge's place.
 
The Gyrenes tacked on another goal late in the first half – utilizing a corner kick – to produce its 3-1 halftime lead. That score held through much of the second half as FMU's defense tightened and looked more like it did during the first meeting between the two teams – a tight 1-0 win for Ave Maria. The Gyrenes pulled completely pulled away from the Lions in the final 10 minutes as they tacked on two goals in the 78th and 82nd minutes respectively to produce the final 5-1 margin.
 
It was a tough for the FMU to produce many viable scoring opportunities Saturday. The Lions totaled just one shot and one shot on goal and failed to produce any corner kicks. Conversely, Ave Maria took 18 total shots, 12 on goal, and had five corner kicks – two of which helped produce goals.