Box Score
The Lady Bruins soccer team suffered a heartbreaker on Saturday afternoon as the team fell 1-0 in overtime to Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio. The defeat marks the third straight for the team as the Bruins fall to 1-5 on the season.
"We controlled a majority of the game but just lost our focus at the wrong time," Bruins Head Coach Chris Carmichael said. "We played much, much better and although I thought we deserved to win in the end we fell short."
The Bruins were coming off a disappointing loss on Friday afternoon to Ohio Christian University and the team was looking to bounce back as they took the pitch on Saturday. In the opening minutes, the two teams tried to establish pace and tempo with both getting good shots on frame in the first half. The Bruins were able to maintain a consistent offensive attack as Lauren Foushee and Sarah Herr positioned themselves to score. The Bears were able to block several Bruins shots while others sailed wide as the score remained 0-0 at the break.
In the second half, it was much of the same as the defensive line of both teams turned aside opportunities to score. Abby Davis and Mikayla Rajcan helped to pressure the Bears net, but SSU goalie Michaela Garner continued to make save after save. With time continuing to tick towards the end of regulation, both teams balanced the move to score with not giving up space in the defensive end. The final buzzer ended regulation with the score the same at 0-0.
As the first overtime period began, the two teams took their chances as they looked for the golden goal. Lauren Foushee got an opportunity for the Bruins but her shot sailed wide. With both teams scoreless, the match would go to one final overtime period.
The Bears were able to finally break the scoreless drought in the second overtime as Olivia Ball recieved a pass from Charity Collins and buried a shot into the back of the net to give SSU a 1-0 victory in overtime. The goal came just a minute and a half into the period.
"This was a stinger for us to lose after playing a great game," Coach Carmichael said. "This performance was what we needed to start getting things going in the right direction. We know it is not going to get any easier over the next few games but we have to keep working hard, learn and improve."
Kayla Fischer made five saves for BJU throughout the match while the Bruins out shot the Bears 17-9 including 9-6 in shots on goal. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 1-5 on the season. The team will return home this week where they will play one final road contest at North Greenville University on Tuesday before their home opener on September 23.
