Box Score In one of the most exciting matches of the young season, the Bob Jones University Bruins came up just short to the reigning NCCAA DI champion Warriors 4-2.

"I was frustrated with the loss but very pleased with how we played overall and our player's attitudes tonight," Head Coach Jesse McCormick said. "We had some opportunities to go up and our guys stayed sharp and kept playing hard."

The Bruins and Warriors squared off on a beautiful evening at Alumni Stadium. The Bruin faithful were out in full voice as the two teams took the pitch. The Bruins came out strong from the opening kickoff and controlled possession, but the Warriors took advantage of a defensive mishap as Michel Hersvenhout created space and bent a shot past a diving Andrew Kester to put SWU up 1-0 just two minutes into the match. 

Undaunted, the Bruins went right back on the attack as both teams traded opportunities in the attacking third. John Wilson nearly evened the score at 1-1, but the goal was called back for offside. Bruins goalie Andrew Kester came up with several brilliant saves to keep the Warriors from extending their lead. At the half, the Bruins trailed 1-0. 

"It motivated me to push harder," Bruins forward Jared Simmons said of the Warriors first goal. "We played a different formation tonight and that came with some risks. We were supposed to come out with high pressure but I thought we did well and worked together with that formation." 

In the second half, both teams came out strong. The Bruins had few opportunities and were looking for someone to create some shots. Stephen Grider rose to the challenge and created two opportunities for the team to try to even the score. First, he smashed a left-footed free kick that caught Southern Wesleyan keeper Miguel Uribe completely off guard as he barely made the save. Garrett Martin gathered the ensuing rebound but his shot went just over the goal. Grider came up big again for the Bruins as he beat the Warriors defense and centered the ball to Jesse Rush just inside the box. Again, the shot sailed just wide.

In the 66^th minute, the Bruins finally broke through as Will Moy found Jared Simmons on a back post run and Simmons calmly rocketed a shot past the SWU keeper for a 1-1 tie. The crowd erupted as the Bruins had evened the score. Their celebrations were short lived as the Warriors took the next kickoff and used good combination play to free Sven Hansen for a breakaway goal to put SWU up 2-1.

The Bruins were fighting from behind again, but this time, SWU doubled their lead. Just a minute after going up 2-1, Christian Taylor, rounded the Bruins goalkeeper, and finished off his shot on an open goal to make it 3-1. All seemed lost until Jared Simmons again provided the answer for the Bruins as he scored on a header to bring the team closer 3-2.

In the closing minutes, the Bruins looked to make one final push to even the score and send the game into overtime. It didn't turn out to be the Bruins day as Southern Wesleyan scored again in the 85^th minute to officially put the contest out of reach. 

"The energy level we had tonight I don't think I've seen all year," Coach McCormick said. "We need to take that into the next game and continue to create opportunities and put them on frame." 

The Bruins got solid play from their defense as Bryce Colon and Josh Harm anchored the Bruins back line. The team outshot the Warriors 13-12 in the match, but a few costly mistakes proved to be the difference in the 4-2 loss. The Bruins fall to 0-2 on the season but will have some time to rest and prepare as they travel to Reinhardt University on September 10.