Naples Standard

The Ave Maria University men's soccer team got off to their first 3-0 start in program history following a 7-0 win over the Florida College Falcons. Josh Gaeng recorded his second career hat-trick, and goalie Rhys Lawlor recorded his third career shutout in the monumental win for the Gyrenes.

AMU got on the board early in the first half and never looked back. After shedding the defender that was on him, Diego Heredia sent a shot that got past the hands of the Florida College goalie but seemed to be heading wide right of the goal. Luckily for the Gyrenes, JP Pontarelli was streaking down the field and buried the ball in the back of the net to put Ave Maria up 1-0.

In the 23rd minute, Cade Williams was about to clear the ball out of the Gyrenes end when saw Gaeng down the field with just one defender on him. Williams booted the ball towards AMU's leading goal scorer, who broke free from his defender and found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Gaeng beat the goalie on his left side and found the back of the net for his fifth goal of the season and put Ave Maria up 2-0.

The Gyrenes would tack on one more goal before the half. With under five minutes left to play in the first period, Padraic Pierson was yanked down while attempting a shot in the goalie box and was awarded a penalty kick. Florida College goalie Markus Sundin was able to make the initial stop on the PK but couldn't control the rebound which landed right at the feet of Juan Parra, who fired a rocket into the goal to put the Gyrenes up 3-0.

In the second half, it only took 38 seconds for AMU to get on the scoresheet again. After Heredia intercepted a pass from Sundin, Parra passed to a wide-open Gaeng at the top of the box who buried the ball in the back of the net for his sixth goal and Ave Maria's fourth of the game.

After the opening goal in the second half, the score stayed stagnant for 25 minutes. However, in the final 20 minutes of the game, AMU went on a scoring spree to put the game away. The first goal was scored in the 72nd minute by Parra. It was his fourth of the season and second of the game. Parra finished with five points on the day, which was good for second most on the team.

Five minutes later, Gaeng found the back of the net for the third time, registering his second hat-trick of his career. He also became just the second Gyrene to record multiple hat-tricks in their career at AMU, after Kensley Jean Baptiste recorded two in the 2019 season. With the three goals on Tuesday, Gaeng's season total is now seven, matching his season total from last year. He also moves into sole possession of second of most career goals with 18, passing Kaveon Dux and just nine goals back of the leader, Jean Baptiste.

"Sometimes, you are just in the right spot at the right time. I take no credit, all glory to God," said Gaeng. "He's allowing me to be in the right spots at the right time and I'm just taking advantage."

In the 84th minute, the man who assisted the first goal, Heredia, finally found the back of the net after attempting four shots in the game and put the Gyrenes up 7-0.

On the defensive side, goalie Rhys Lawlor saved all nine of the shots he faced on Tuesday, turning in his third shutout of his career. With that shutout, he is now second all-time in most shutouts in program history.

With the win, Ave Maria improves to 3-0 for the first time in school history. They also swept the season series against the Florida College Falcons, a team they have not beaten since 2009. Spirits are high at Ave Maria as they move on to their next match.

The next time Ave Maria will see the pitch is Saturday, September 10 at Trinity College.

Original source can be found here.