Box Score
The Lady Bruins were hoping to give seniors Tessie Estrella, Jenn Wise and Spencer Martin one last win at Alumni Stadium, but the Bears of Truett-McConnell College played the role of spoiler in a 2-0 shutout of BJU on Saturday night. 

"We didn't deal with the pressure they gave us," Coach Chris Carmichael said. "They pressed us pretty hard at the beginning and we weren't able to handle it. We've seen that speed of play before and dealt with it before but we just didn't do it tonight. It was a good test for us and it could have been worse than it was. We're mentally fine though and we'll put this behind us and move on." 

 

The Bruins entered the match having won 6 straight games including a 1-0 victory over Columbia International University on Tuesday night. Truett-McConnell took the field of Alumni Stadium with a 6-8-1 record having lost 3 of their last 4 games. The Bruins were celebrating homecoming and had their largest crowd at Alumni Stadium. The two teams were ready to go under the clear autumn sky. 

The Bears came out strong in the early minutes with good pace and possession and began to work the ball into the attacking third. Jessica Baun came up with back to back saves to keep the Bears at bay but Truett continued to pressure the net. The Bears broke through in the 10th minute of play as Brooke Reed lofted a shot from 20 yards out over the outstretched arms of Baun to put the Bears up 1-0. 

The Bruins tried to regroup, but the team struggled to get anything going offensively as the sloppy passing turned into turnovers and shots on goal for the Bears. In the 17th minute of play, Abbey Thompson found space on the left side of the box and rocketed a shot past Baun for the Bears 2nd goal to make it 2-0. Mimi Lozano had a golden opportunity late in the half, but her shot was tipped wide as the Bears took a 2-0 lead into the break. The Bruins were able to only muster 3 shots in the 1st half as the team was struggling offensively.

"Our possession was not there," Coach Carmichael said. "We couldn't get anything going or get into a rhythm of play which hurt us in this game." 

In the 2nd half, the Bruins tried to rally and get something going offensively but the Bears stood strong on defense to keep the Bruins off the board. The combination play in the midfield continued to struggle as the Bruins had very few opportunities to score. Abby Davis and Mimi Lozano were well defended on each possession and were limited in shots on frame. As the final buzzer sounded, the Bruins had their 6-game winning streak snapped in a 2-0 loss at home. 

"This just wasn't our game and collectively it didn't happen for us today," Coach Carmichael said. "Our team will be hungry when we get to regionals. We'll be fine and I am confident they will be ready to play."

The Bruins were outshot 23-9 in the match and only had 4 shots on frame. With the loss, the Bruins end the regular season at 9-9. The Bruins took time after the game to honor the three seniors of the squad in Tessie Estrella, Spencer Martin and Jenn Wise. The Bruin faithful gave their thanks to three young ladies who not only left it all on the field, but were the very foundation of the women's soccer program from its inception. 

Next up, the Bruins will play in the opening round of the NCCAA DI South regional tournament. The team secured the #1 seed for the tournament and will play Johnson University of Florida on Thursday night at Toccoa Falls College.