Box Score After shutting out their previous two opponents, the Lady Bruins soccer team found themselves on the losing end of a 3-0 defeat to Newberry College (NCAA DII) on Thursday afternoon.
"Our team played a hard fought match against a very strong team," Head Coach Chris Carmichael said. "Despite missing a few players, our team stepped up and created some good opportunities that we just missed. This was a great learning experience for us and will help us prepare for the matches we have coming up."
The Lady Bruins came into the game after impressive region wins over Trinity Baptist College and Toccoa Falls College as the team was 8-4 on the season and 5-0 in conference play. The Wolves came into the game off the heels of a 1-1 draw against Lincoln Memorial University. The Bruins knew they would be in for a tough match as they took the pitch. Adding to the difficulty was the Bruins missing six different players who were out of the lineup tonight.
In the opening minutes the Wolves took possession and began to circle the Bruins net. Their speed of play presented difficult matchups for the Bruins back line but the team was able to turn away opportunities. It didn't take long for the Wolves to break into the scoring column as Alyssa Ortega beat the Bruins defense and buried a shot past Kristen Haertlein to make it 1-0 just ten minutes into the match.
The Bruins regrouped and began to find their rhythm of play as the team looked to answer. Abby Davis had an opportunity for the team but Wolves keeper Kodi Jean Johnson came up with the save. The Bruins offense struggled to generate further opportunities, but the defense continued to stand strong as the team trailed 1-0 at the break.
In the second half, the Wolves came out strong again from the opening kickoff as they tried to add to their lead. The Bruins defense ran step for step with the Wolves and keeper Kristen Haertlein made some great saves as the Bruins looked for the equalizer. But Alyssa Ortega would be the difference in the match for Newberry as she scored her second goal of the night in the 58th minute to give the Wolves a 2-0 lead.
The Bruins tried to counter, but the offense struggled as they weren't able to generate sustained possession and runs on net. Alyssa Ortega put the exclamation point on the match for the Wolves as she completed the hat trick in the 65th minute to propel Newberry College to a 3-0 win over the Bruins.
"We finally got into our rhythm of play in the last portion of the game which was good to see," Coach Carmichael said. "We will use this match to increase our speed of play and help us grow stronger as a team as we head into the final stretch of our season and regional tournament."
Kristen Haertlein came up big for the team in the match with 14 saves but the Bruins were outshot 36-3 throughout the match. With the loss, the team falls to 8-5 on the season. Next up, the Bruins will travel to Truett-McConnell College on Saturday afternoon.
