Box Score
The Bruins women traveled to Knoxville, Tennessee for a match with Johnson University. The Bruins have been playing tremendous soccer on both sides of the ball as the team is 6-0-1 in their last seven games. During that time, the Bruins have allowed only one goal while scoring 26 goals. The Bruins defense has been stellar as goalie Tori Anderson has maintained a .56 goals against average this season. She is ranked second in the nation with the lowest GAA. The Bruins met Johnson University twice in the 2012 season with the Bruins winning both matches 5-0 and 8-1 respectively. The team hoped to keep their unbeaten streak intact as they took the field.
From the opening kickoff, the Bruins maintained possession and were able to control the tempo of the game. The Bruins midfield did an excellent job of transitioning the ball through to the fowards who got open looks on net. That excellent play allowed the Bruins to generate many shots on net. The Bruins would break into the scoring column first as Lauren Peek netted her sixth goal of the season with a low shot in the corner off the assist from Spencer Martin to put the Bruins up 1-0. In the 21st minute, Sarah Porch picked up a goal off a rebound shot fired by Jenn Wise to put the Bruins up 2-0. From there, the Bruins continued to control possession and allowed very few touches to Johnson. Leah Edwards scored her first goal of her intercollegiate career off an assist from Spencer Martin to put the Bruins up 3-0. Nearing the end of the half, Bethany Davis scored her first goal to take the Bruins into the half with a comfortable 4-0 lead.
"Possession and combination play was very strong tonight," Coach Carmichael said. "We were able to generate a lot of shots on frame and we had a great effort overall by our players."
In the second half, the Bruins played with more of a defensive awareness to protect the lead. With the game in hand, the Bruins continued to dominate possession and execute crisp passing. The final nail in the coffin came when Rebecca Luttrell scored off of a corner kick from Deanna Howard to put the Bruins up 5-0. The final buzzer signaled the end of the game and gave the Bruins their seventh win in their last eight matches.
"I was very happy with our combination play and mobility off the ball," Coach Carmichael said. "JU played a much improved game this season, but we were very lively and created a number of different opportunities while allowing Tori to keep the clean sheet."
Spencer Martin led the Bruins with 2 assists on the night, while Lauren Peek, Sarah Porch, Rebecca Luttrell, Leah Edwards and Bethany Davis each scored one goal for the Bruins. Tori Anderson completed her seventh clean sheet of the season as she has not allowed a goal in over 270 minutes of action. With the Bruins improved to 7-2-2 on the season. Next up, the Bruins will look for their 9th straight unbeaten match as they travel to Truett-McConnell College on Saturday afternoon.
