Box Score
Despite gaining the equalizer late in the second half, the Bruins fell short as the Piedmont College Lions scored two late goals to take a 3-1 win on Saturday night in Alumni Stadium.
"We need to play hard for 90 minutes," Bruins Head Coach Jesse McCormick said. "The second half we worked hard to tie it up and get the momentum, but we just had some unlucky things happen that second half that cost us."
The Bruins came into the game with a 1-1 record after winning their home opener over Johnson University last Saturday night. The fans were out in full voice as the Greenville weather presented a great night for a match.
In the early stages, mishaps by the Bruins defense allowed the Lions several quality chances on frame. In the 8th minute of play, another costly error allowed the Lions to gain possession deep in the attacking third. Victor Munoz squirted the ball through two Bruins defenders and Chase Kane bent a shot past the arms of Bruins keeper Andrew Kester to put the Lions up 1-0.
The Bruins came back as they looked to find the equalizer. Karl Walker and Jesse Rush helped to move the Bruins forward, but the team wasn't able to maintain possession and get good looks on frame. As the halftime buzzer sounded, the Bruins were trailing 1-0.
In the second half, the Bruins took their halftime adjustments and came out with energy in the opening minutes with several shots on frame. Lions keeper Elliot Sailes made several saves to keep the Bruins off the board.
As the half wore on, the Bruins continued to work the ball into near the Lions net but couldn't break through. In the 72nd minute, they caught their break as Tommy Aker sent a deflected ball into the back of the net to tie the game 1-1. From there, the Bruins went right back on the attack as the team was energized by the hometown crowd.
With five minutes remaining in the match, disaster struck as a low shot bounced off the post right to the feet of Lions defenseman Daniel Arnstein who buried the rebound to put the Lions up 2-1 with just minutes remaining. The Lions put the match away for good as the team was awarded a PK and Chase Kane scored his second goal of the match to give Piedmont College a 3-1 victory over the Bruins.
"We had some guys who showed some good things on the offensive side and pushing the ball for us," Coach McCormick said. "We were working hard but we had some mental lapses in this game and with us playing good teams coming up, those mental lapses are going to hurt us if we keep doing them."
Tommy Aker picked up his first career goal with the Bruins while keeper Andrew Kester recorded six saves on the night. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 1-2 on the season. Next up, the Bruins will be on the road as the team will battle Southern Wesleyan University in Central, South Carolina on Tuesday night.
