The St. Ambrose men's soccer team kicked off the 2021 campaign in Wisconsin over the weekend with two non-conference games. The Fighting Bees faced the Viterbo V-Hawks Saturday afternoon and took on Dakota Wesleyan Sunday morning.

St. Ambrose 1, Viterbo 1

SAU got it going early on Saturday afternoon but couldn't hold on to their lead. Spencer Pyle got the Bees on the board first, scoring in the 4th minute. Justin Tackett had a chance to add to the lead soon after, but his attempt went wide. Piercarlo Ricossa kept St. Ambrose ahead, saving an attempt from Viterbo's Jacob Battista in the 5th minute. Ricossa made several more saves throughout the first half to give SAU a 1-0 lead at halftime. Noah Secor made a defensive save for the Bees in the 58th minute to keep the margin at one. Attempts from Viterbo's Abdul Samet Ankaoglu and Aidan Radford in the 60th and 63rd minutes were turned away by Ricossa. Alex Perez had a chance for the Bees in the 68th minute, but his chance went high. The V-Hawks would find the tying goal late, scoring in the 90th minute on a shot from Parker Vajda. St. Ambrose had eight shot attempts, and Viterbo had 22. Ricossa ended with 13 saves. 

St. Ambrose 4, Dakota Wesleyan 2

St. Ambrose used four second-half goals to earn their first victory of the season. The Tigers took an early 1-0 lead, with Rafael Calderon scoring just under a minute into the game. Rory Hannon had the first chance for SAU in the 6th minute, but his attempt was saved. Miguel Bayma turned away a shot from Rocky Guevara in the 13th minute to keep the deficit at one. The Bees had a chance to tie up the game in the 15th minute, but Blake Biery's shot was saved by Hunter Birozy. Cesar Requena found the second goal for Dakota Wesleyan in the 33rd minute as St. Ambrose found themselves down 2-0 at the break. SAU turned it on in the second half, with Hannon finding the back of the net in the 51st minute off an assist from Hayden Newton. Just a few minutes later, Newton would tie the game up at two after Sam Flello found him for the score. Bayma made a save in the 57th minute to keep the teams even. Spencer Pyle and Justin Tackett had back-to-back chances in the 61st minute turned away by the Tiger keeper. After a foul in the box on Dakota Wesleyan, Pyle converted the penalty to give the Bees a 3-2 lead. Tackett added a goal in the 77th minute to account for the final score. St. Ambrose totaled 13 shots, with 10 coming in the second half. Bayma was credited with two saves in the win. 

SAU will have two scrimmages before facing off against Culver-Stockton at home on August 31 at 7:30 p.m.