After a disappointing loss on Wednesday night, the BJU Bruins responded in a big way on Saturday afternoon as the team defeated Piedmont International University 4-0 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. With the win, the Bruins improve to 2-4-1 on the season.
"Our guys played great today as a team," Bruins Head Coach Jesse McCormick said. "It was good to have some patience in quality movement offensively in the attacking third."
This would be the first-ever meeting between the soccer programs of PIU and BJU as the battle of the Bruins was set to be played on the pitch. The hot and humid weather presented tough conditions on the players with several stoppages throughout the match for water breaks.
In the opening minutes, the Bruins were able to move the ball towards the PIU net thanks to some good combination play. The Bruins seemed poised as they controlled possession and found open players. The only goal of the first half was scored by Andrew Peterson as the senior netted his first of the season. Jesse Rush fired a shot just inside the box which was blocked by the PIU goalkeeper. Peterson was there for the rebound as the Bruins led 1-0 at the break.
The Bruins came out in the second half looking to increase their lead. The team was able to use their halftime adjustments to open space as the team created several quality chances on goal. Less than two minutes into the half, Sebastian Sulik found a lane and scored on a one-timer to put the Bruins up 2-0.
As the half wore on, PIU looked to close the deficit but Isaac Landry was a force between the pipes as the junior made several key saves to keep PIU off the scoreboard. In the 75th minute of play, David Young scored his first career goal as the freshman eluded a defender and bent a well-placed shot into the back of the net to make it 3-0. Caleb Felber would put the exclamation point on the shutout as he scored with seconds remaining to help the Bruins defeat PIU 4-0.
With some of the offensive struggles the team has experienced this season, Saturday's win was a big confidence booster for the Bruins as they move to 2-4-1. Next up, the Bruins will be back in action on Monday night as the team welcomes North Greenville University to Alumni Stadium at 7 p.m.
