Ave Maria, Fla. - Behind four goals in the first half, St. Thomas Men's Soccer (5-3-1 Overall, 2-0-1 Sun) defeated Ave Maria University (6-6-0 Overall, 0-2-0 Sun).
It took just six minutes for the Bobcats to get on the board. After the Gyrene's goalie deflected a shot, Luca Heusser was able to head in the rebound to give St. Thomas the early lead. In the 20th minute, Thiago Patto doubled the Bobcats' lead on a long shot from outside the box. Julien Laborde was credited with the assist on the Patto goal.
In his first game in almost a month, substitute Kerim Akpinar scored his first goal of the match on a cross from Ellef Herstad in the 37th minute. Less than five minutes later, Akpinar scored his second goal, as he got around a couple of Gyrene defenders near the front of the net. At the end of the first half, the Bobcats lead 4-0. Ave Maria did not have a single shot attempt in the first half.
The Bobcats added another goal a few minutes after the break. In the 50th minute, Bautista Suarez Basalo was able to score on a cross from Laborde. That was Laborde's second assist of the game. The score sheet remained empty for both teams for the rest of the match, leading to a St. Thomas 5-0 win.
Matias Fuentes secured his second shutout of the season, as he made three saves in the win. Heusser and defender Chris Staford played all 90 minutes for the Bobcats. St. Thomas outshot Ave Maria, 16-7. Ten Bobcat shots were on goal, and Patto had four shots on goal.
St. Thomas returns to action at home on Wednesday, September 7th, for another Sun Conference match. They will host Webber International at AutoNation Field at 7:00 pm.
