Box Score Despite having another strong performance, the Lady Bruins found themselves on the losing end of a 1-0 match at North Greenville University. "We played very well tonight and improved in many areas," Coach Chris Carmichael said. "Despite the loss, we know collectively that we had some opportunities to equalize the game and just came up short."
The Bruins offense had opportunity,
but failed to capitalize in the 1-0 loss.The two teams were originally to meet at Alumni Stadium, but the rainy weather caused the game to be moved to Tigerville, South Carolina. The Bruins came into Tuesday's match having dropped their last three games while only scoring 1 goal in those three losses. The Crusaders came into the match with a 3-4 record, having lost four of their last 5 games. Both teams were looking to get back into the winning column as they took the field.
In the opening minutes, both teams looked to set pace and control possession. Leah Edwards found space early on and fired a shot, but it was saved by Madelynn Schober. The Crusaders responded with a great opportunity on frame, but Kristen Haertlein turned it aside. Both teams went back and forth exchanging possession and runs on goal. As the first half concluded, the two teams ended as they began in a 0-0 game.
The Bruins and Crusaders came out knowing that this match was going to go down to the wire. The Crusaders put the pressure on in the early minutes as they moved into position for open looks. In the 56th minute, Lindsay Tuten rocketed a shot off the crossbar as the game remained scoreless. Eventually Tuten was able to find the back of the net in the 69th minute as she beat two Bruins defenders on a breakaway and fired a well-placed shot past Haertlein to put the Crusaders up 1-0.
With just minutes remaining, the Bruins tried to climb back into the game, but the Crusaders kept up the good combination play and moved the ball into the Bruins third. The Crusaders scored again in the 81st minute, but the play was called back for offsides. As the horn sounded, the Bruins hopes of an equalizer ended as they fell to North Greenville University 1-0.
"We had a great effort by all of our players and I thought some of the problems we were having we were able to fix," Coach Carmichael said. "NGU is a very strong team and played a great game. This match will continue to strengthen us as we continue to grind it out with a much stronger schedule than we have had historically."
With the loss, the Bruins fall to 3-8 on the season and have lost four straight games. Next up, the Bruins will host Columbia International University on Friday night at Alumni Stadium.
