Box Score
The Bruins took the field on Saturday afternoon for the first of their final four matches on the road. Their opponent was Chowan University Skyhawks. The Bruins were riding a two-game losing streak after tough matches against Truett-McConnell and Bluefield College. The Bruins have been road warriors this 2013 season while posting a 5-1-1 record in their away matches. Chowan University was riding a two-game losing streak as well and has struggled this year with a 1-13 record. The Bruins had defeated Chowan University 3-1 in the 2012 season. The wet conditions in North Carolina would definitely be a challenge for both teams as they took the field to begin the match.
From the opening kickoff, the Bruins were able to establish good tempo and control possession. Coach Carmichael stressed the importance of possession in practice this week, and the Bruins were able to capitalize on maintaining possession and creating great ball movement. In the 13th minute of play, Sarah Porch scored off of a rebound shot to put the Bruins up 1-0. The team continued to have great possession play in controlling the tempo to create open looks. The Bruins kept up the offensive pressure with 10 first half shots on goal. The Skyhawks generated 9 shots throughout the first half, but goalie Tori Anderson was up to the task making save after save. The half ended with the Bruins holding onto a 1-0 lead.
"Our possession was much better this game," Coach Carmichael said. "More importantly, our defensive effort and pressure was very good and consistent. Our attacking was much more effective because of our rate of possession which opened up the field and created a number of shots on goal."
In the second half, the Bruins took their halftime adjustments and continued to work their combination play to open up offensive lanes towards the Skyhawks net. Just two minutes into the second half, Sarah Porch scored her second goal of the game off an assist from Jenn Wise on a beautiful shot into the upper-ninety of the net to increase the Bruins lead to 2-0. The team continued the defensive pressure to keep the clean sheet intact. In the 75th minute, the Skyhawks finally found the chink in Anderson's armor as the Bruins goalie was not able to handle a lofted shot from Erica Jefferson to make the score 2-1.
With the equalizer in sight, the Skyhawks began to increase their offensive pressure and desperately fought to get back into the game. The Bruins remained calm and composed and continued to dominate possession time throughout the second half. As the match was coming to a close, Spencer Martin scored on a breakaway pass from Jenn Wise to put the Bruins up for good. The final score gave the Bruins a much-needed 3-1 win on the road.
"This was a very important win for us," Coach Carmichael said. "Chowan played very well and had a number of good opportunities. Our possession helped us create some quality finishes and helped us get this win."
Sarah Porch led the way for the Bruins with two goals, while Spencer Martin scored her 6th goal of the season. Jenn Wise had three assists in the match and Tori Anderson made 6 saves. With the win, the Bruins improve to 8-4-2 on the season. Next up, the Bruins women will travel to Oglethorpe University on Tuesday night.
