Box Score
The Bob Jones University Bruins were riding a three-game winning streak as they entered their match on Wednesday afternoon against the Montreat College Cavaliers. The Bruins most recent victory came last week in an OT thriller against Point University 3-2. The Bruins offense has been on a roll as the team has outscored their opponents 12-3 in their last three matches. Montreat entered Wednesday's match with a 3-1-1 record and 2-0 in their conference play. In their most recent match, Montreat came from behind to defeat Virginia Intermont 3-1 behind two second half goals. The Bruins were looking to keep their winning streak alive as they took the field under the North Carolina afternoon sky.
From the opening kickoff, the Bruins struggled to come out with the same firepower as in previous matches. The team had done an excellent job this past week in jumping out and applying good offensive pressure to the net. The Cavaliers were able to control the pitch and didn't allow the Bruins to set up very many looks. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers generated some open looks which were turned aside by Joseph Wooster and the Bruins defense. At the midway point of the first half, the Cavaliers found the chink in Wooster's armor to put the Cavaliers up 1-0. The Bruins had several open opportunities but the half would end with the Cavaliers up 1-0.
"We failed to make good decisions on a consistent basis," Coach McCormick said. "Overall we gave the ball away too much which hurt us."
In the second half, the Bruins tried to get back even. The Cavaliers switched up their strategy to be much more defensive to keep the Bruins away from the net. The tactic worked as the Bruins were able to control possession, but had a hard time getting open looks on the net. Several shots were blocked by Cavalier defenders. In the end, the Bruins were not able to find the back of the net as the game ended 1-0 snapping the Bruins three-game winning streak. The Bruins' record now stands at 3-3 on the season.
The Bruins will have some time to rest and recover as they prepare to travel to Columbia International University next Tuesday night. The Rams are 5-1 on the season and have outscored their opponents 21-3 so far this season. The Bruins will be in for a tough test against CIU as the team looks to get back on track next week.
