Box Score

The next chapter of the CIU vs BJU rivalry was written on Thursday night at Alumni Stadium with the Rams coming away with a 4-1 win in front of the Bruins hometown fans. "I think right now we are a much better team than we are showing," Coach McCormick said. "That is the frustrating thing. We have players that can play consistently and play with speed and skill and we just aren't showing that right now."

 

The Bruins came into Thursday night having never lost to the Rams at Alumni Stadium. The Bruins had outscored the Rams 8-0 at home and were looking to get back into the winning column after a difficult 6-2 loss to Reinhardt University last week.

Columbia International University entered Thursday's match with a 6-3-2 record and were coming off a 1-0 victory over North Greenville University in their last match.

In the opening minutes, the two teams exchanged possession and looked to establish control. The Rams would strike first in the 9th minute of play as Maksym Yakovenko bent a low shot past Joseph Wooster to give CIU a 1-0 lead. Less than 2 minutes later, the Rams struck again as Agustin Arce-Ruiz lofted a beautiful shot off the crossbar to extend the lead to 2-0.

On their heels, the Bruins looked for every way to get back into the match and began to generate more looks on frame. The team was dealt a blow on offense as captain Ryan McCarty left the match after colliding head-to-head with Rams defender Tyler Smith. McCarty would not return and required 11 stitches in a cut on his face.

The Bruins continued to battle throughout the remainder of the half butwent into the break down 2-0. "We wanted to utilize the space in front of their back four," Coach McCormick said. "We wanted to use that width to our advantage and we just didn't do that tonight."

In the second half, the Bruins looked to claw their way back into the game. AJ Redlinger found space in the 63rd minute and buried the shot to cut the deficit to 2-1. The Rams came back on the attack but goalie Joseph Wooster stopped two breakaway opportunities to keep the score close. In the 78th minute, the injury bug bit the Bruins again as goalie Joseph Wooster tweaked his knee making a save and would have to leave the game. Daniel Mallard finished the play to make it 3-1 CIU. Mallard added his second goal in the 85th minute to cap a 4-1 win for the Rams.

"We've got a lot of hard work to do," Coach McCormick said. "Not only hard work but also smart work to make sure we aren't just working hard but working smart on the field."

With the loss, the Bruins fall to 5-8 on the season. The team will have some time to rest and recover before traveling to St. Andrews University next week.