The Bruins women began their 2013 season on Saturday night as they welcomed the Emmanuel College Lions to Alumni Stadium. The teams had played each other twice last season with Emmanuel winning 5-0 in preseason and 2-1 in the regional playoffs. Coach Carmichael and the team had all offseason to prepare for their opening matchup with the Lions. "It was a big motivation factor for us," Bruins' goalie Tori Anderson said. "We knew we had improved so much and we just used that momentum going into this game. It fueled a lot of our practices." The Bruins made a lot of strategy changes coming into the season, and the team was dealt a serious blow when Sarah Iwanowycz injured her ankle in practice forcing her to miss the season opener. More than 1,900 fans filed into Alumni Stadium to watch the Bruin women begin their season. 

From the opening kickoff, both teams went back and forth with neither able to maintain possession. The Bruins defense stood strong only allowing the Lions to one shot on goal throughout the entire first half. That one shot almost put the Lions on the board as the shot hit the crossbar before the Bruins cleared it out. The Bruins had several opportunities on the offensive end, but couldn't finish their opportunities. As the half concluded, the Bruins had 3 shots on goal but the score remained 0-0. 

"We had some good penetration to their defense but we needed more consistent attacks," Coach Carmichael. "We had some good touches but overall we needed to try to be a little less predictable in our offensive attacks."   

In the second half, both teams picked up the physical intensity as each tried to break the scoreless draw. The Bruins were able to win the possession battle for most of the second half, but struggled to get good looks. Forwards Lauren Peek, Tessie Estrella and Spencer Martin all had open shots, but the Bruins couldn't find the back of the net. As the buzzer sounded to end the 2nd period, the score was still 0-0. 

In the first 10-minute overtime period, the Bruins had two near goal chances as Lauren Peek distanced herself from the Lion defense, only to have her run cleared by Lions goalie Cyara Castillo. The two teams ended the first overtime at 0-0. 

As the second overtime period began, both teams played conservatively trying not to yield a goal. The possession went back and forth and both teams had limited opportunities to score. As the buzzer sounded for the second overtime period, the Bruins and Lions played to a draw at 0-0. 

"Our defense played incredible tonight," Bruins' goalie Tori Anderson said. "Some of our players were put into positions they were not used to and they still gave their absolute best and played hard to glorify Christ. Once we get our defense back to full strength that will help, but we will continue to work hard and get better."

The Bruins next match is coming up on September 5 against St. Andrews University.