After falling behind early, the Bruins men's soccer team scored three unanswered goals as the team defeated Trinity Baptist College 3-1 on Saturday night at Alumni Stadium. With the win, the Bruins have now won three straight as the team moves to 4-8 on the season and 3-1 in region play.
"The guys were hungry for a win tonight and I am proud of the way we played," Bruins Head Coach Matt Hotchkin said. "We got scored on early in the match but we didn't overreact and the guys bounced back. Moving the ball and keeping the possession really paid off in this game."
The Bruins came into the game on the heels of a 3-1 win over Toccoa Falls on Tuesday night and the team looked to pickup another region win as they welcomed the Eagles. Before the game began, the Bruins honored the seven seniors on the program this year.
In their history, the Bruins had never defeated Trinity Baptist at Alumni Stadium. With the stands packed with nearly three thousand fans in attendance, the Bruins hoped to come away with the win in front of the hometown crowd.
Just minutes into the game, the Eagles silenced the energy of the crowd as a great combination sequence freed up Joseph Nava on a breakaway and Bruins keeper Isaac Landry couldn't make the save as the Eagles went up 1-0 just under two minutes into the game.
The Bruins came right back as they looked to even the score. The team was able to get the ball into the attacking third, but their scoring chances sailed wide or were saved by Eagles' keeper Jason Aultman.
With the half coming to a close, the Bruins continued to press and found the equalizer in the 36th minute of play as Sebastian Sulik created space on the outside and centered a beautiful pass into the box where Conley Burk redirected it into the net to tie the game 1-1. Both teams had chances in the closing minutes but the score remained tied going into halftime.
In the second half, the Bruins and Eagles came out knowing the history between these two programs in that the next goal would likely be the game-winner. Both teams went back and forth with opportunities and scoring chances but the Bruins were able to maintain a more consistent attack. Still, they couldn't find the back of the net despite several chances to score.
With just under ten minutes remaining, Sebastian Sulik again created space by the defender and headed towards the goal. Sulik was fouled in the box awarding the Bruins a PK. Jordan Crews took a confident penalty kick to score and give the Bruins a 2-1 lead with just minutes to go.
The Bruins weren't done as Jesse Rush gained space past his defender and centered a pass into the box where David Dume scored to give the Bruins a 3-1 lead. The Eagles offense came back as they looked to spark a rally but the Bruins defense stood strong as the final buzzer handed the Bruins a 3-1 win.
"We felt like if we could move them around we could open up some of channels to move the ball forward," Coach Hotchkin said. "This is really the first game where I felt our guys stayed completely on task for the full ninety minutes and didn't let off the pedal. I'm really proud of them for that because it is tough to do."
David Dume scored his team-leading 5th goal of the season while Conley Burk scored his third goal of the year. Next up, the Bruins will be on the road on Tuesday as they face Montreat College in Montreat, North Carolina.
