Box Score
Last Saturday afternoon under the hot Florida sun, the Bruins walked off the field with a 1-0 loss to Clearwater Christian College. The team had a long drive back to Greenville thinking about what could have been and the opportunities they had missed in the defeat. The Bruins had outplayed the Cougars but had allowed the lone goal that proved to be the difference in the 1-0 match.
All this week, the Bruins thought about that match and allowed it to motivate them to work harder in each practice. On Saturday night, the Bruins welcomed the Clearwater Christian Cougars for a rematch. The Bruins came into the match with a 4-5-1 record. The Cougars were riding a three-game winning streak with wins over Trinity Baptist, BJU and Toccoa Falls. The Bruin faithful were in full support as the team hosted "Alumni Appreciation Night" at Alumni Stadium as more than 2,200 fans lined the stands to see their team play.
As the match began, the Bruins controlled possession and looked to get numbers on the offensive end. The team did an excellent job of possessing and working their offensive sets to generate runs. Clearwater went back to their defensive-minded strategy that they had played so well in Florida. The Bruins had difficulty getting clear shots on goal as the Cougars defenders kept deflecting shots. Still the Bruins offense was relentless as the team outshot Clearwater 22-0 in the first half. In the 32nd minute,
Matt Moore finally broke the scoreless draw as he beat the Clearwater defender and fired a shot passed Cougars goalie Garrett Hollenbach to put the Bruins up 1-0. With the half drawing to a close,
Andrew Moisant capitalized on a short-range opportunity after Ryan Beadles worked through the Cougar defense to put the Bruins up 2-0 at the half.
"I didn't need to say a whole lot to my guys this week," Coach McCormick said. "They were really motivated to play this game and they worked hard all week to get here. We came in wanting to put more shots on frame. We just needed to be smart in where we placed our shots."
In the second half, the Bruins picked up where they left off and continued to barrage the Cougars net with shots. Although the team pressured on the offensive end, the defense of the Bruins held the Cougars in check and allowed very few opportunities. Less than 3 minutes into the second half,
Ryan McCarty fired a bending shot off the hands of the goalkeeper to put the Bruins up 3-0. The Bruins scored twice more in the next ten minutes of play as
Matt Moore picked up his second of the game, and
Travis Woodham used some fancy footwork to net a goal to put the Bruins up 5-0. The Bruins crowd was in full voice as the team continued to dominate possession and control the tempo of the game.
In the 69th minute, defensemen
Ryan Beadles scored his first goal of the season with a rocket shot to put the Bruins up 6-0. From there, the team continued to control the game as the Cougars were only able to generate six shots throughout the entire match. As the horn sounded, the Bruins had completed the clean sheet with a 6-0 win. "The motivation was to represent Christ on the field and play your heart out," Bruins' forward Travis Woodham said. "It was a disappointing loss in Florida, but tonight we came out with a lot of energy and the crowd showed up great tonight. I think we stepped it up a level and just pressured the net with intensity."
Matt Moore led the way for the Bruins with two goals, while Ryan McCarty and Travis Woodham each had a goal and an assist on the night. Joseph Wooster completed his third clean sheet of the season while on offense the Bruins outshot Clearwater 33-6 on the night. With the win, the Bruins move back to .500 with a 5-5-1 record. "This was a big game for us," Coach McCormick said. "It was something we needed to not just put one or two goals in and it worked out for us. We have a big game Tuesday against one of the best teams we are going to face all year."
The Bruins will play host to Georgia Gwinnett College on Tuesday night for their next match. Georgia Gwinnett competes in the NAIA and is currently 8-4 on the season.
